From I to Us
by Skeeterdayz
Summary: The raven haired girl squeezed the leotard in her palm. There was a certain intensity in his face that she'd never seen before letting her know that the extra commentary needed to stop. "Heather you're twenty one, I'm twenty one. I'm a college student! Neither of us know anything about raising a child! It's like you don't even care!" AleHeather fic. Read and review
1. Pink Stripes

**Hey! I've had this idea on my mind for a long time and I just finally wanted to get it out! Alejaheather for the first time! Woo. **

**Their roughly like 21 in this fic. Pretty young.**

**Soo...go head and read and tell me what you think! All reviews are appreciated.**

**DISLCAIMER: I don't own total drama**

* * *

"God dammit..."

Heather placed her head in her hands as she slammed the small plastic object in her hand back on the counter. It'd been t_wo fucking months_ and she should've known something was wrong. She laced her fingers into her raven hair and shut her eyes tightly as she glanced over one last time at the test lying on the counter. Why couldn't she tell beforehand that even spending longer than two hours at that stupid party would end her up either dead from alcohol poisoning or pregnant.

Guess which one she was.

It was all because of that stupid party that her "friends" decided to throw. But ordinarily friends wouldn't let their fellow friend nearly drink themselves into a coma and run off with some random guy to who knows where. He could've fucking kidnapped her and murdered her in the woods, but to her friends it was just good, young adult, fun. Heather barely remembered what happened that night in general. She did however, remember the face that caught her eye at the bar where the party was held. She could never mistake those soft-green eyes for anyone else but him.

* * *

"_You seem a little...tired, bonita." Heather felt rough hands slither around her waist from behind. A husky voice breathed into her ear and nearly drowned out the blare of booming music shooting through the room. The voice seemed familiar...but how so..._

"_...I..." The raven haired girl stared off dizzily as the owner of the voice rested his chin in the crook of her neck, lightly brushing the fallen wisps of silky hair away. Slow, sensual kisses showered her neck, taking the girl aback. "I'm fine..." _

"_Are you?" He breathed into her ear yet again, tightening his grip on her waist as they rocked back and forth. _

"_Y-yes." She stated firmly, running her dainty hands down to clasp onto his. The attempts to pry his hands off of her so she could slip away went awry as he lightly bit on the soft of her neck, earning a small gasp out of her. _

"_Ah, ah, ah. Not here music is too loud...I can't hear you...moan." He brought his lips back up to her ear. "And I would love to hear that. But I want you just to myself." _

_She felt it in her drunken soul that she was going to go home with this man, and she knew just what would happen. Slowly she, craned her neck to the side, giving him better access to her lightly tanned flesh. God he had amazing lips, such an amazing feeling against her skin. And those small hot breaths he took between contacts pushed against her neck and made her want to shove him against a wall right then and there. _

"_Let's go. Heather." He breathed one last time, right before he memory went hazy. Moments on from that were all a blur._

* * *

Now she sat against her bathroom wall and tub, holding back the urge to vomit. Fucking morning sickness was kicking in and nearly making her pass out every day. It was an endless cycle of eating breakfast and puking it up thirty minutes later. But that was the least of her struggles she had to worry about for now. She was pregnant. _Pregnant_. With _hi_s child.

Heather brought her hand up towards her mouth as she dry heaved. "God dammit." How was she supposed to tell him, let alone her parents. I didn't take long for her roommate to find out at all. If anything she knew the instant that Heather had burst in apartment from the dance studio three hours early and into the bathroom.

She was right. She was now expecting.

Slowly, Heather pulled herself from the cold tiles and into her bedroom. She reached for her small, pink covered phone and began scrolling through the contacts. She still had his fucking number; she'd meant to delete it right after that night.

"Oh my God..." The dancer couldn't believe what she was doing. She waited nervously as the dial tone rang through the room.

"**Hello, you've reached the voicemail box of 'Alejandro Burromerto'. Please leave your name and number after the beep."**

Heather swallowed hard...thank God he didn't pick up. After the number read out the list of options, the beep soon came; the girl bit down on her bottom lip. "...Alejandro?...This...this is Heather...we need to talk..."

* * *

**Okay, so this was kind of the first chapter/prologue, so yea. **

**Tell me whether i should keep going.**


	2. Leotards and Lexuses

**SECOND CHAPTER. WOO.**

**READ and REVIEW PLEASE**

* * *

"Did you set the tables?" Alejandro shouted from across the room at his fellow employee.

The scrawny blonde boy pushed his glasses up on his nose, scurried over towards the opposite side of the room and over towards the dish rack. "Oh-God-I'm sorry. I completely forgot!" It was late and the restaurant was just about to reopen after the lunch rush.

The latino brought his hands to face and his elbow to the counter in front of him. "Connor. You can't keep forgetting things like this! It's bad for business."

Connor struggled carrying the numerous stacks of dishes in his hands. "You say that like we own the place. We're just employees Al."

Alejandro slit his eyes and snaked from around the counter of the bar. He crept up to the boy just as a stack of porcelain white dishes nearly fell from his arm, but quickly he caught them just in time. "Connor I don't know about you, but I happen to take my job extremely seriously. You should consider it. Who knows, you might get more tips that way." He narrowed his green eyes. "And don't call me 'Al'".

The smaller boy sighed before accidentally bumping his knee into a table as he passed, sending one dish to shatter on the floor.

"You know what, just give me the plates." Alejandro took them from his grasp. "I'll set the tables. Just go sweep or something."

The Latino shooed Connor away and discreetly looked over his shoulder before pushing the shards of broken dish under a table with the side of his boot. He knew that Connor overall had great potential and was extremely intelligent, but he was just so clumsy that it basically counteracted every other aspect of him. To be honest it was kind of sad to watch.

Alejandro started over towards the tables nearest towards the doors, gently placing white plates down on the tables marked reserved. It was one of the tedious things that tied into his job as a bartender at Safari, a relatively popular local restaurant. He just need a way to pay for college since his parents decided to basically give him little to no financial help at all during his final year. Their three month long abroad trip Italy was obviously more important. Honestly it pissed him off to just think about how his father, _the diplomat_, left him out high and dry. It's as if they assumed psychology degrees just fell from the sky.

He'd turned twenty-one recently and had excellent hand-eye coordination skills and he'd passed the "HELP WANTED" sign numerous times as he drove to school in the mornings, so he thought it couldn't hurt to try out for the position. As it turned out, he was probably one of the best bartenders the restaurant had ever had.

"YO ALLIIIIE!"

'_God dammit'_ Alejandro mentally swore. He recognized that voice literally anywhere. What the hell was Jose doing here? Alejandro's face sank as he placed the last plate from the set on his hand on the table; he could feel his brother getting closer to him.

"ALLLLIIIIIEE! I'm talking to you. I know you can hear me!."

Alejandro shifted on his feet to face Jose. "If you're looking for that attractive waitress Molly, she's not here. And she's probably not coming back thanks to you."

The fellow hispanic started over towards him, his hands grazing the tables as he approached. "Actually, I'm not here for her Allie." Alejandro cringed at the abuse of his name. "But if she ever does come back you can give her my number." Jose smooth talked.

The younger latino rolled his eyes and turned back to face the table, now beginning to set up the silverware.

"What, do you not want your phone back Al?"

Alejandro's hands darted to his pants pockets, both front and back. Quickly he turned from the table once again and looked his brother up and down.

"You left it at Mama's after you visited last night." Jose removed the black phone from his pocket and held it outwards. "I wasn't gonna bring it back at first, but I could never pass up a chance to see my baby brother in his pride and glory."

The older latino snickered as his brother snatched the phone with a glare. He pushed the small object into his back pocket and started back over towards the tables. "If that's all you need you can gladly leave." He snapped.

Jose leaned against the stone door frame. "Actually, when I was going through your phone I saw some girl left a message or something. You might wanna check that out."

"You went through my phone?!" Alejandro exclaimed as he whipped the phone back out of his pocket. "What are you, twelve?!" Jose simply snickered yet again, enjoying the pissed and anxious expression on his face.

"You can't just leave your stuff around and expect me not to go through it. It's brotherly love."

"Jose, don't you have a job to go to?" The younger latino snapped, now scrolling through his messages.

"What, I can't stay around for a little longer-"

"Shhh!" Alejandro shushed his brother as he held the phone to his ear. Small clicks of background noise played through before the message began.

"**You have one unheard message from 5557764654"** The phone spoke "**'...Alejandro?...This...this is Heather...we need to talk...I know we haven't talked since Rikki's party, but this is important and I'd rather do this in person." **He could hear her inhale nervously**. "If you could maybe...come by my apartment sometime soon...we really need to talk. I live at Garden Square, apt. 3E. Please call back soon." **

The message then ended abruptly, leaving a confused expression on Alejandro's face. Slowly he took the phone away from his ear and looked intently at it. Heather was calling him? Of all people? What did he need him for? Of course, he did clearly remember the night of Rikki's party in great depth and occasionally scold himself for making the drunken decision to go home with her. But what did she want now? Whatever it was, it sounded important judging by the hesitance and nervousness he heard in her voice.

"So who was that?" Jose nonchalantly asked, brushing off the sleeve of his leather jacket.

Alejandro batted his hand at the air in a shooing motion. "No one important to you, now _leave_. We're about to open." The younger latino ushered his brother out of the stone doorway and out to the store front, where he politely slammed the glass door shut in his face. Jose didn't need to know about whatever was concerning her.

He leaned against the stone doorway where his brother had been and looked back at his phone, slowly going through a list of reasons why he'd called her in his mind. There was one thing that stood out to him instantly, but his mind quickly surpassed it. He'd used protection when they were together...so there was no worry of that...besides...he'd thought he'd heard her say that she was on birth control...so there was no concern...right?

Either way, the latino swallowed and pushed his phone back into his pocket. His classes started at noon, so he decided it would be best to go past Heather's tomorrow morning. Her message was more than likely going to keep him up all night wondering what it was about. He was still going ultimately.

"Connor, come finish setting these tables!"

* * *

"Kiki! Kiki where is my leotard?!" Heather called from down the hall of her apartment. She was late for her dance company rehearsal and she'd probably get mauled if she dared walked in ten minutes after class started for the third time.

"I don't know." Her roommate called back. "Go check the basement or something. You probably left it in the dryer."

The girl groaned in frustration and turned in her sandals to start down out the door. Every second passing was a second making her even more late, and it was literally killing her on the inside. She could practically hear her company leader now scolding her as she crept in through the side door, a mocha chocolate frappe in hand. Her director could literally yell himself into a coma, but she would _always_ stop for Starbucks, whether she was late or not.

Her hands lightly brush past the dingy light switch of the laundry room and fill the heavily scented room with yellow light. Heather barely ever liked coming down to the basement in general, which is why she had Kiki do the laundry the majority of the time. Overall it just freaked her out how there were so many places where something could hide and jump out at her. She cautiously made her way over to the basket left on the floor and sifted through the freshly scented clothes, gripping her leotard as she yanked it from it's place.

"Oh God.." She remembered how she'd tried on her leotard the day before and it had been tighter in certain areas, predominately her stomach. How the hell was she two months along and already having trouble fitting into her clothes? Either way, Heather sucked in her breath and tucked the black cloth under her shoulder. She still had a class to go to.

* * *

Alejandro unhurriedly pulled his black lexus into the entrance of Garden Square, letting his eyes canvas the buildings for the proper number. He'd woken up debating whether or not he should even take the time out to come by...but the compassionate man inside of him had dragged out the door whether he wanted to or not.

He quickly found the number of the building and pulled his car up alongside the sidewalk. He could feel the lump in his throat building as he approached the front of the building, swelling and almost preventing him from grabbing the door handle. The latino however inhaled and started into the hall.

In the back room of the apartment Heather's roommate sat in the love seat she'd carried in her room and typed away at her laptop, attempting to finish her theology essay. She'd waited to long to start it and now it was due in _two hours_. The tan skinned girl bit into her apple and placed it back on the desk in front of her and narrowed her eyes; this paper was going to get finished.

The audible sound of the door pushing open rang down the hall.

"Heather? Did you find it?" Kiki didn't glance away from her laptop. Unfamiliar footsteps tracked from the door into into what sounded like the living room. Slowly the girls eyes wandered away from the glowing screen and over her shoulder. She couldn't quite see that far down the hall without her glasses, but she knew that the tall, dark, figure that stood in her living room definitely wasn't Heather.

Her eyes widening, Kiki slowly reached for the metal bat she'd kept beside her bed and gripped onto it tightly as she rose from her seat. Heather had always questioned why she'd kept it there, and now was a perfect example.

Alejandro gradually wandered around what he could tell was Heather's living room. The door had been left open, he assumed it was for him; so he'd just invited himself in.

Pictures of Heather's family and what looked like certificates or awards of some sort decorated the light yellow walls and captured the latino's attention. She was a dancer of some sort...for some company. Numerous plaques and trophies lined the surfaces of the room, and obviously since they were so broadly on display she was proud of her profession. He had to admit that she did look amazingly fit from the last time that they'd interacted.

The sound of light footsteps pulled him from his fascination and over towards the hall, where a tan skinned girl stood anxiously, metal bat in hand.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doin' in my apartment?!" She belted, gripping the bat as if she was preparing to swing.

Alejandro nearly stumbled over from how startled he was. "Easy now! I'm not here to hurt you, I-"

"Answer the damn question before I swing!"

"Heather! Does Heather live here?! I got a message from her asking me to come here!"

Kiki slowly loosened her grip on the bat and let it drop to her side. She leaned against the wall as she looked him up and down.

"O-oh. So you're...okay...Um, she uh, went down to the basement...but there she is now!"

Alejandro turned to see Heather's bewildered figure standing in the doorway, a bagel in her teeth and a black leotard under her arm along with the mail in her hand. She hadn't been expecting to come _today_, let alone this early. She was a wreck! Her dark hair was messily tied into a ponytail and her makeup was half done; to her, someone seeing her like this was literally her worst nightmare.

"What are you doing here so early?" Heather snapped, tossing the bagel into the kitchen. "You couldn't have called me or something?"

Alejandro lifted his hand to his mouth to disguise the smile tugging at his lips. "I distinctly remember you asking me to meet you in person, Heather." There was a certain firmness to the way he said her name that sent chills down her spine.

Kiki glanced at the two. "...So I guess I should leave you two to talk in private..." She brushed past them and reached for her car keys before giving Heather an unsure look and exiting the apartment.

Heather's grey eyes drifted back to Alejandro, whom she shared an awkward, tension filled glance with. "So what did you need to talk to me about?" The latino questioned, shifting his weight to his right side.

The dancer bit her lips as her eyes darted across the room. _'Just say it! Stop being such a fucking coward!'. _Her eyes focused back on his perplexed face.

"I'm waiting." He stated, tilting his head.

"I-" Heather shut her eyes tightly. "I'm pregnant."

* * *

**SO YEA **

**HOW DO YOU FIND THAT**

**TELL ME. **

**~Dueces**


	3. Unbelievable

_'Why is he just staring at me? Isn't he gonna say anything?'_ Heather thoughts were the only sound audible in the dead silent room. The Latino man simply stared incredulously at the girl, his eyes confusedly shifting around the room.

_'Is he mad? Wait, what the hell is he doing?'_ Alejandro slowly began to approach the girl, sliding his leather jacket off his shoulders as he walked. His hands settled themselves on her shoulders as he stared her dead in the eye. He almost looked if he was about to kiss her, but she knew that wasn't his intention. His expression was far too riddled with confusion.

"...Heather..." His voice ran out of his mouth at such a smooth, low tone; it almost startled her. "I know our differences go way back to Total Drama...and even though I thought I'd never see you again after that, I've still managed to get passed them." He ran a hand through his brown locks. "I'm not entirely sure _you _have, however."

It only took a few seconds for the raven-haired girl to pinpoint exactly what he was getting at. "Wait, you think I'm lying?!"

"'Lying' is such a harsh word...'seeking attention' seems more appropriate."

Heather jerked away from his grasp on her shoulder. "Are you kidding me? Like are you really fucking with me right now?" She narrowed her grey eyes. "The absolute_ last _thing I would want to do is come anywhere near you after we had a fucking one night stand, and you really think that I would be so desperate to get your attention that I'd lie about being pregnant with your fucking child?! Get over yourself!"

"You can't blame me for not believing a compulsive liar." Alejandro argued calmly. "After all you earned that title yourself."

"So you still don't believe me?"

The Latino looked away, obviously unsure of what to say. Heather groaned and shoved the man aside, angrily storming down the hall and into the bathroom. A few seconds later, she returned to the room, a small plastic stick in hand.

"You see this?" She held it in front of his face. "This is a pregnancy test." Inch by inch it continued to move closer towards his face. "Can you tell me what it says, Alejandro?"

"It has two pink stripes on it, and I'm assuming that it means it's positive." He responded, moving her hand away from his face. "But-"

"Would you like me to get the other two from the trash?"

"I was going to say I have no way of knowing if it's mine." Alejandro finished plainly. It was clear that he admittedly didn't believe her, much to Heather's annoyance.

"How fucking much do you think I sleep around?! I barely had enough time to go that party when I'm literally in a dance studio seven hours a day!"

"But you still did go home with someone you haven't seen or spoken to in years. Excuse me for thinking that you don't have the best judgment."

Heather sighed angrily and brought her dainty hand to her forehead. "Alejandro, I'm two months along, two months from the day we _slept together_." She glanced up at him. "I haven't been with anyone else since, I promise you that. This fetus growing inside of me is your fucking child. If there was even any _possibility_ that it might be someone else's, I definitely would not go to you first, believe me. If you wanna get a fucking paternity test done go ahead and waste your time because this is _your_ baby!"

It was at that moment where it seemed that Alejandro didn't have a comeback for her statement. If anything, it seemed as if what she was saying was actually beginning to sink in. _'Does he fucking get it now?' _

"I-" He swallowed. "I can't believe this." The Latino tossed his jacket onto the couch and sank down beside it. His forehead settled into his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees.

"Thank your bionic sperm for breaking the condom." Heather snapped, still angry from his prior disbelief.

"Heather this is not a goddamn time to be joking!" He shouted, taking Heather aback. Even five years ago on the plane he'd never raised his voice like this. "Do you realize that you have a living child growing inside of you? A living, breathing child that's going to eventually come into this world?!"

"Oh, so now you care?"

"Heather goddammit would you stop?!" He yelled again, standing from his place. "Is this how you get by? By taking fucking serious situations and cushioning the blow with snide comments?"

The raven-haired girl squeezed the leotard in her palm. There was a certain intensity in his face that she'd never seen before letting her know that the extra commentary needed to stop.

"Heather you're twenty one, I'm twenty one. I'm a fucking college student! Neither of us know anything about raising a child! It's like you don't even care!"

Heather looked away, running her hand through her silky, black hair. "Well...I mean...if we're really that screwed over...I could always just get an-."

"No." The word fell out of his mouth in a low, serious tone. "There is no way in hell I'm letting you abort my child, you hear me?"

"I meant that as a last resort-like if I really can't do-"

"We." He stated.  
Heather sighed. "You said yourself that you're college student. How are you gonna manage a child and school?"

"I'll figure that out later; just get the idea of getting an abortion out of your head because that's not an option."

"Fine, whatever." The raven-haired girl pushed past the Latino and grabbed a pink and black duffle bag from off the edge of the couch cushion.

"Wait, where do you think you're going?!" He asked as she continued down the hall, tucking her leotard into her bag. Heather's eyes glanced over her shoulder.

"I have a dance rehearsal to go to. Maybe if you had called me ahead of time we could've had a full conversation."

"Are you serious?! You're gonna leave in the middle of all this? For a _dance rehearsal_?! You're pregnant for God sakes you could hurt the baby!"

Heather scoffed. "I've been going every other day since before I knew. I'll be fine." She walked towards the door, but hesitated. "You can stay if you want, but since I won't be back for at least five hours I'd recommend you leave and come back later. Do whatever you need to do."

Before Alejandro could get another word out, the door slammed shut loudly, leaving him alone in Heather's living room.

* * *

"HEATHER CHEONG."

_'Fuck'_

She was really hoping she could slip through the back room without Terry noticing and enjoy her coffee, but much to her dismay her slender figure was the first thing to catch his eye.

"Heather you're late, for the millionth time. Get in here. Drop your things right there, there's no time for you to go upstairs."

Irritably, she let her duffle bags out of her grasp and bent down to sit her coffee cup on the hardwood floor, tying her hair into a tight bun atop her head as she continued over towards the group. The director of the nine dancers of the company shot her an intense, blue-eyed glare as she approached.

"You know Heather," He started, pushing past other dancers to step closer to her. "You may have a solo, but I can easily take it away if you don't feel the need to even show up to rehearsals."

The girl cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "I think you and both know that you're not gonna do that, Terry." She stated sharply, looking the man up and down.

Their eyes locked in an intense stare as Terry glanced at her as well, more than likely thinking of a proper comeback. "Hmmm..." He questioned, poking her stomach lightly. "Might wanna lay off the sugary, carb-filled, Starbucks for a while. It's showing."

The girl let in a silent inhale and looked away as Terry returned to his place in front of the dancers. She and the blond had always had somewhat of a love/hate relationship. Prior to hiring her in the studio, Terry and Heather had worked together at a retail store for predominantly teenage girls and instantly became close friends. When Terry had mentioned that he had a dance studio, she had instantly jumped at the chance to make money off of doing what she loved. But as soon as Heather had quit her job to be a dancer full time, the two could be in verbal arguments for literally hours, but Terry would always still manage to one-up her at the end of their quarrels. She could think of anything to say back when the debate was heated, but simple, quick thoughts that he let out always shot her down every time.

"Now, everyone, I have a little announcement to make." Terry started, his attitude now chipper. Tugging the hem of her pink crop-top down over her stomach, Heather's eyes gradually returned to the front.

"As you know, we have a few shows at the River Opera House coming up, and as you've probably noticed we've been short a few dancers lately. So, I took it upon myself to employ a new dancer."

"_What?_" Heather instantly questioned. "We had to work our asses off to get here and then you just hire some random stranger from off the street?"

Terry narrowed his eyes at the girl. "She's experienced, and at least she shows up on time." The blond turned towards the left side of the room, where a small, fragile looking girl was seated gracefully on the window sill. "Everyone, this is Dawn Masterson."

Dawn looked up from her dainty palms upon hearing her name. Heather's eyes widened as she was able to observe a full view of the girl. _Damn _she was pretty. But not that street-bimbo, too-much-makeup kind of pretty. She had a certain, mystery to her...the way a single strand white blonde hair poked out from her tight bun and framed her face. It almost made her look like some sort of angel.

"Dawn is the new employee I hired and I want you all to make her feel welcome. She knows most of the choreography for our numbers, including Heather's..." He focused at the Asian girl, making her grimace. "So we should be able to just jump right into rehearsal. Places everyone, first number."

Through the entirety of the first group number, Heather made it her mission to keep an eye on this girl. If Terry was going to hire anyone off the street, they had to be pretty fucking amazing. And If that was the case and she knew Heather's solo, one more late instance could land her watching it from backstage.

The stereos lining the room began softly blowing out the music to the first number, signaling Heather to raise her arms above her head and plant her feet into third position. Dawn was now placed adjacent from her, standing where the former dancer Bethany had been, mimicking her stance._ 'This number is probably the most difficult one we've had._' Heather thought._ 'Let's see how she can keep up.'_

_Regrets collect like old friends, Here to relive your darkest moments_

_I can see no way, I can see no way_

_And all of the ghouls come out to play_

_And every demon wants a pound of his flesh_

_But I like to keep just to myself_

The raven noticed Dawn movements as the music began to pick up speed, and they were simply just all too graceful. She waited, and watched for the girl to make one miss-step; stared at her waiting for her to miss a beat and tumble down onto her ankle like Heather had the first time going through this number. Dawn was persistent though. It was like she had no focus as her wide blue eyes stared out. She simply just moved with the music, as if it were coursing through her veins.

'_How is she getting this so easily?'_ Heather asked herself as she leaped into a grand jete; luckily she had developed the skill to focus on one thing while still being able to dance. '_It took me three fucking tries to nail that turn-ugh.' _

Suddenly, Heather's eyes met Dawn's. She'd been so caught up in looking for mistakes that she hadn't noticed that Dawn had been staring at her the _entire time_, including now. An instant discomfort set in as the blonde managed to keep her eyes on Heather and dance, making it at least ten times creepier. _'Why is she staring at me. Why the hell is she staring at me.' _

_***I'M WIDE AWAKE***_

The sudden alert from the back of the room loudly blared over the chorus of the song, pulling away all of the dancers' attention. Irritably, Terry slipped from the formation and paused the music as the alert continued to blare again.

"Alright, who's phone is that?" He asked, glaring directly at Heather.

The raven girl hesitantly began to take a few steps backward before sprinting over to her bag and dumping out its contents. She had absolutely no idea why she always kept her phone at the bottom of it. Eventually, the pink smartphone tumbled down onto the wood floor, letting out another alert as it did.

"Who the hell is even-" Her face sank.

**KIKI:** What did he say? How did he take it?

"Goddammit Kiki." Heather groaned, dropping her phone back into her bag.

"You know what Heather," Terry started, rubbing his temples. "You know this dance and your solo well enough. Why don't you just take your things upstairs and go home. I don't need any more distractions right now."

"Are you serious? You're kicking me out?"

"Goodbye, Heather." Terry flicked his fingers in a fake-sympathetic wave. The dancer groaned and quickly collected her things from the ground. "Dawn, make sure she leaves please."

Heather glanced at Dawn, who'd started towards her. _'If this blonde bitch thinks she's gonna usher me out she's got another thing coming.'' _Before she could fully reach Heather, the raven haired dancer turned on her feet rudely and stormed up the stairs, completely ignoring Dawn.

"I can't believe he kicked me out." Heather grumbled incredulously to herself. "I fucking make this dance company happen! I-"

"Heather..?"

The soft spoken voice almost startled Heather because it was so high-pitched. Hesitantly, she stopped and glared back at the girl. "What, Dawn?"

Dawn's wide, blue eyes wandered up and down Heather's form, taking in every aspect of her body.

"Are you gonna say anything or just stand there and stare at me for-"

"Congratulations." The blonde finally blurted as her eyes went wide; a small smile tugged at her gentle lips.

'...For what?" Heather asked, slowly beginning to step back onto the next step.

Dawn smiled. "For your baby. Congratulations."

The dancer looked at the girl, wide eyed with disbelief. How the hell did she know that? Was she really showing that much? What the hell was this girl? "I'm not-how do you-"

"I can read auras." Dawn's voice became much softer and comforting, not much to Heather though. "I just took up dancing as a hobby. But I can see your aura is kind of a reddish-mustard color...I'm guessing the pregnancy is really stressing you out?"

Heather simply just stood petrified as Dawn continued feeding her information that she hadn't told anyone. "In your aura however, I can see another one...which typically only happens to people who are either schizophrenic or pregnant. I think what I'm seeing is your baby's aura."

"I...I..."

'I think it's girl...but I could be wrong...aura's like that are misleading...I-"

"I have to go!" Heather instantly interjected, clutching her bag and sprinting up the stairs. She didn't look back to see if Dawn was still watching her, she was way too creeped out by how she'd known all that without her tell her. She knew there was something creepy about her from the beginning at that was fucking it. The bitch could read auras or whatever she'd said.

Bright light nearly blinded the girl as she walked out the back door to her car. She had to get her focus back on herself.

Besides, she had to go home and kill her roommate.

* * *

**So yes, there you have it for chapter 3. Please review if you really want to see more, all are appreciated. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Shake It Out" by Florence and the Machine or "Wide Awake" by Katy Perry**

**~DUECES**


	4. Small Talk

**Chapter four you guys.**

**Read on.**

* * *

The two future-parents sat directly across from one another, looking each other dead in the eye. They'd been sitting at Heather's dining room table for at least half an hour, staring at each other at not saying a word. They could finally talk in private without Kiki around to stick her nose in their business.

"...So..." Heather started, snapping Alejandro out of his gaze. "Are you still against-"

The Latino glared at her, cutting her off before she could finish. "Yes." He replied firmly, folding his arms on the glass table.

"Alright then..." She droned out.

"...You know...it never occurred to me that we actually haven't spoken before this since Total Drama. And even then we didn't know that much about each other." Alejandro stated. "I mean, it's been five years. I think before all this goes down we need to get to know each other a little better."

The girl rolled her grey eyes and shifted her head onto her hand. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Let's start with professions."

Heather narrowed her eyes and used her free arm to gesture around the room to the various plaques and trophies hanging.

"Dancer...right. But is that a job?"

"I work at a dance company. They pay me to perform with them. However, the last time I was there my roommate decided to text me in the middle of rehearsal and I got kicked out."

"What about?" He asked.

"Thaatss not important. But yeah I work there. On pretty decent salary too."

Alejandro smirked. "Well I noticed that you were in quite good shape."

"Whatever." Heather looked back at him. "Aren't you just a college student? I know you're pretty fucking well off. Your father's diplomat right?"

The Latino raised a brow. "Yes he is, but I still have a job. By the way you should work on that swearing problem.."

"I'll fucking swear as much as I fucking want to." Heather snapped, leaning forward. "Now what do you do, bitch?"

"I'm a bartender at Safari." Alejandro answered quickly, glaring at her.. " And I'm pretty damn good at it. I'd invite you to try a drink but, you know."

"And then you go to school during the day...?"

"Yes, for the most part."

"So, you expect to leave me alone with a child all day to take care of myself?" Heather scoffed.

"Don't put words in my mouth!" The Latino exclaimed, looking strangely at her. "I wouldn't leave you here alone to raise a child by yourself. What kind of respectable man would do that?"

"The same kind who would knock up a random girl on a one night stand." Heather replied plainly.

"Heather, I'm really trying to get around your unnecessary comments but you're trying my patience. We came here to talk about the baby, without the help of your extra opinions."

The Asian girl leaned back in her chair. "Sorry for telling the truth-"

"_Heather_." He groaned angrily. It was funny because half the time, she didn't even mean say the comments she made. They just sort of slipped out.

"Fine. Sorry, really. What were you saying?"

"I was saying that yes my father is a diplomat, but they pretty much cut me off senior year and I have to support myself." Alejandro answered. "What about _your_ family?"

Heather groaned and rolled her eyes. "God...I have two siblings, annoying little brother, Damien, he's sixteen. My older sister Nicole who's twenty-three and shadow I'm currently living in." The girl's eyes went wide as she halted complaining for a brief moment. "...My parents...Oh my God how am I supposed to tell my parents?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, just focus right now."

"...Well...my mom is kind of lenient when it come to most things...but my Dad typically gets strict a lot when it comes to who I'm seeing. He's always wanted me to date this perfect, clean cut Korean boy and that's just not me."

Alejandro was leaned back, holding his chin in his palm as he rocked on the hind legs of the chair. "Oh...well...that's going to be quite the conversation later.

He leaned back onto the table. "You already know about my father; my mom is basically a stereotypical Mexican woman, and to be honest she never really took out the time to learn English, so it's broken."

"So that means you can tell her about all this." Heather smiled.

"...I'm pretty sure that she understands the phrase 'I'm pregnant'."

The dancer opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of the door opening and closing. The sound of light humming and the rustling of grocery bags rang down the hallway.

"Hey Heather! You home?" Kiki bellowed. Heather instantly assumed she was listening to music, so she probably couldn't hear how loud she was. "I got some Burger Queen if you want any."

"Oh my God I'm starving-" She attempted to get up from her seat, but a firm hand instantly gripped her small wrist. "What?" She gawked.

"You can't eat greasy fast food like that. It's bad for the baby." Alejandro told her, pulling her arm back into her seat.

"Are you kidding me? Is this how you're gonna be from now on, because if so I-"

"Chill, Heather." Kiki interjected, walking in from the kitchen. "He's just doin' what most guys do in a time like this. My brother-in-law basically put my sister on lock-down when he found out."

Heather turned her head back towards the Latino to see his smug expression. "Wipe that grin off your face." She hissed.

Kiki leaned against the door frame."Have ya'll, y'know, seen like a doctor or anything? I know you're only like two and a half months along, but you should still see somebody. You know, for prenatal care."

Alejandro pushed his chair back from the table. "That's actually a good idea. I'll set up an appointment with your normal physician-"

"I...don't have a normal physician..." Heather reluctantly choked out.

Kiki and Alejandro shared a confused glance and looked back at girl. "What do you mean? Everybody has a normal-"

"I haven't been to a doctor since I was fourteen."

Both of their jaws lay agape at her statement. "Why?!" Alejandro exclaimed, louder than he wanted to.

"Well..." Heather ran her hand into her hair. "Back when I first started high school I started living with my grandmother because my parents were having issues, which they managed to work out...but my grandmother is kind of an organic, Korean wisdom, health nut."

It seemed the more Heather went on, the more confused Kiki and Alejandro became. "So she stopped taking me to hospitals and just made me herbal remedies and shit. For the most part they worked."

"Huh..." Alejandro was now leaned back onto his elbows. "Remind me to tell your grandmother last about the baby."

The baby. Those words were still foreign to Heather. Every time the thought that she was actually going to responsible for another _human being_ crept up, it made her nauseous; she would swallow the nervousness and anxiety it brought back down her throat.

"I'll give you my doctor's number." Kiki told her, going back into the kitchen to dig through her purse and pull a white card out of her wallet. "He's really good."

Heather shuddered as the card was placed in her hand. It was just another reminder that she was going to be a parent.

* * *

**Alejandro's POV**

I really needed to find a place closer to Heather's to stay. She was rounding out the last week of her third month. Driving back and forth across the city was really eating into my gas budget. Maybe they had vacant apartments somewhere in Heather's complex, the same building would be better.

I lived in a condo on the outskirts of the town, not too far from the school and not that far from Safari. But a good drive away from Heather's place. For some reason I just didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone for long periods of time. It was like I was leaving her vulnerable, even though I was well aware that she could take care of herself, I just wanted to be close to her.

"Al, are you okay?"

Jose's voice from the passenger's seat snapped me out of my thoughts. Wait, did he actually sound _genuinely_ concerned for me?

"I'm fine." I replied quickly. I'd already made up in my mind that Jose definitely didn't need to know about the pregnancy right now because I wouldn't hear the end of it. Of course, there was going to be a point where I couldn't hide it any longer, but I'd deal with that later.

"You completely just ran that stop sign." He pointed out.

"I'm just thinking, that's all." I assured him. The one thing about Jose was that he was persistent when he thought something was wrong. Even though most of the time he was being a complete asshole, he still _said_ he cared about me somewhat. "Call Carlos, tell him we're almost at his house."

Silently, Jose leaned forward and dialed our brother's number on the keypad. _Oh he's on to me now_. I thought.

The ringing filled the car. I could feel Jose look over at me. "So what did that girl want?"

My face went hot. Dammit.

"Nothing important." I answered too quickly.

Jose furrowed his brows. "She sounded like it was something important."

This bitch listened to the message before he gave me my phone. I swear there was no lack of trust stronger than the one in the Burromerto family. "It was nothing, now stop asking me about it."

Before Jose could speak up again, Carlos picked up the phone.

"Hola? Taco Bell?"

Jose snickered, and I couldn't help but crack a smile too. Carlos may have been the eldest, but he was still a clown. He was professional soccer player, he had a beautiful trophy wife and one little girl that I adored. You'd think that with all that responsibility he'd act like the twenty-seven year old he was.

"Carlos, I'm almost there. Is Lucy ready?"

"Yea, she's pretty excited to see her uncle again too." Carlos added.

My niece's name was Lucinda, I just preferred to call her Lucy. It was shorter and she preferred it too. Usually I would take care of her once a month back in my condo, but given last month's...events...I had to cancel, and I felt bad. So I offered to get her a little earlier than normal the next month.

"You wanna talk to Uncle Al Lucy?"

Before I could say anything, I heard a little voice answer the phone.

"Uncle Allie?"

Dammit. She killed me with that little voice. "Hey sweetie, how are you?" Jose chuckled at how my voice went up at least two octaves. A quick punch in the arm shut him up instantly however. She was only four. How else was I supposed to talk to her?

"I'm fine. Are we gonna have fun this weekend?" She asked.

"Don't we always have fun?" I asked back.

It Jose didn't stop laughing beside me I swear I'd stop my car and kick him out to walk home. At least she _liked_ me. Every time I asked Lucy about Uncle Jose, she got scared and instantly changed the subject.

I could see their house coming up on my left. "Hey Lucy, can you tell your daddy to bring you outside, I'm out front."

"Okay!" She responded in her small voice. There was a shuffling noise, the sound of Lucy yelling to Carlos that I was there, and the sound of the line clicking off.

Lucy appeared in her little pink overalls outside of the house, Carlos escorting her down to the car, her bag over his shoulder. I quickly stepped out of the driver's side to kneel down to my niece.

"You ready for a great weekend?" I asked in what I called my "Lucy voice".

She nodded with a smile, her little tresses of brown hair moving with her head. Quickly, I opened the back seat door and let her climb inside, closing it behind he. I met eyes with Carlos, who's just finished putting her bag in my trunk.

"Friday to Sunday, right?" I asked again, just to clear any confusion.

"Right. You remember the rules right?"

I scoffed. "Carlos I've been taking care of your daughter long enough to remember. She's gonna be fine." Carlos at time still had trouble letting go of Lucy for too long, but he trusted me enough to keep his cool.

He gave me a nod of reassurance before saying goodbye to Lucy and heading back inside his house. I saw his wife appear in the window, narrowing her heavily lined eyes at me as a pulled out of the driveway. To be honest, she hated both Jose and I, for what reason I have no idea. My mom hated her because she was Dominican, so it evened out somewhat.

"Can I play with your phone Uncle Allie?" Lucy chimed from the backseat, cradling he little pink stuffed elephant in her hands.

"Sure, knock yourself out kiddo." I handed the phone to Jose to give to Lucy. As long as she didn't buy six bucks worth of virtual crayons on my games again, I was fine with it.

I turned my attention back to the road, trying to ignore Jose's eyes on me again. God why couldn't his apartment be closer to where we were? All I had to do was drop him off because his jeep was in the shop. His eyes were burning a hole in my neck.

"Could you please stop staring at me Jose?" I asked irritably, turning onto Lexington Drive.

"What are you hiding?" His whisper sent chills down my spine. It was like he _knew_.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I tried to remain as emotionless as I could, but on the inside I was having a heart attack.

Jose narrowed his eyes at me again. He knew I was hiding something.

Suddenly, the same dial tone from before filled the car. My eyes darted to the hands free keypad and nearly made all the color drain from my face.

CALLING HEATHER.

"Lucy! Did you dial something?!" I instantly yelled by accident.

Lucy shrugged and continued pressing buttons on my phone. No, no, no! You couldn't end a call without the phone itself. And I knew Lucy wouldn't give it up. All I could do was sit back in my seat in horror, praying that Heather wouldn't pick up. Jose looked confused, but also eager to see who Heather was.

"Hello?"

GODDAMMIT.

"Hi-Heather. I-um called you by accident. So you can just hang up-"

"No wait, I'm actually glad you called." She cut me off.

I was having an anxiety attack. I could feel it. My mother had them all the time.

"Kiki's doctor said that everything's normal, the baby's healthy so far."

That was it. That was the death of Alejandro Burromerto. In the driver's seat of his car, with his older brother staring at him with jaw hanging open.

"Th-at's great." I weakly let out, holding in the urge to lay my head against the steering wheel.

"Yea, so there's nothing to worry about. He said we could do a follow up appointment when I'm further along." I could almost hear her squint. "Are you driving?"

"Yep." My voice cracked. You could hear the soundtrack of Lucy's game emanate from the back of the car. "I just-have my niece with me. I'm taking care of her this weekend."

"Oh." Heather almost sounded disappointed. Normally I would stay with her on weekends and help her out. She said she was fine by herself, but this was based on my discomfort of leaving her alone.

"I'll come by later." I wanted to smash my head against the dashboard. My brother was practically spazzing out in the passenger seat. He couldn't wait till this call ended.

"Okay, fine then. We need to talk about some other stuff either way. I'll see you later." She ended the call, filling the car with an awkward silence. I couldn't tell what Jose was thinking.

"Oh. My. God." Jose finally spoke up, his eyes wide and staring menacingly at me. "You knocked her up! How the hell did you get this under my nose for so long?"

"Could you please not use that language with a four-year-old in the backseat?!" I snapped.

"Oh my bad," Jose fake-apologized. "You got that girl pregnant. I can't believe my baby brother didn't wrap up!"

"_Jose_." I hissed. If he kept using terms like that I knew I would have a lot of awkward questions from Lucy later.

"This is just too good." He leaned on his knees. "That sounded like the same Heather from that show you were on a few years ago. Oh God it is her isn't it? Jesus Al!"

"Can we not have this conversation right now." I glared at him, tilting my head to the back seat.

"She's busy with that game." Jose insisted. "I just can't believe this. You're gonna be a daddy Al!"

"I know." I said through my teeth. I he didn't shut up..."I swear, if you tell mom and dad I'll-"

"Don't worry Al, your secret's safe with me." He said that _way_ too calmly. "But, you and I just have a few more things to talk about then."

God I wanted to kick myself. This was the beginning of a long chain of blackmailing. "Fine."

* * *

**I kind of liked writing this chapter, and I'm glad how it turned out.**

**Tell me what you think!**

**~DUECES**


	5. Playing Defense

**Chapter 5. **

* * *

Heather's POV

I sat back on my bed cross legged in front of my flat screen, flipping through channels looking for something decent to watch. I had to have had mounds of junk food around me. I'd managed to slip most of it under Alejandro's radar. He would've killed me if he knew that I binged on cheese curls practically every day.

I reached for the shortbread cookies by my feet and pulled them into my lap, popping the lid open. Normally I'd eat nowhere near this much, but I my cravings were becoming out of hand and I couldn't help myself. I'd already told Terry about everything, reluctantly. He texted me like every minute after I stopped showing up basically yelling at me via text. When I couldn't stand to hear my damn Katy Perry text alert go off one more time, the truth came out. He was surprisingly happy for me and apologized for harassing me. Gay guys, I swear.

"What's on?" I held a cookie between my teeth as I continued flipping through the channels. To be honest I was kind of bored with no work and what not. Terry wouldn't even let me step foot in the studio while I was pregnant, and that as much as he loved me, I was a walking lawsuit. So I just stayed at home, watching Lifetime movies all day. It made me feel like my mother.

_Marley and Me_ was on. Definitely not. I could barely watch _Finding Nemo_ now without getting overly emotional. Alejandro was there with me when I did watch it, and he actually had to stop for a minute and see if something was legitimately wrong with me.

_**I can't keep up with your turning tables, underneath your thumb I can't breathe...**_

The Adele song that I had set as a ringtone went off and my face went pale. I had a personal ringtone for everyone in my contacts, and that particular one was for my mother.

I hadn't talked to her for at least two months, normally I would call her at least once a week. She had to be pissed. I was scared to pick up, but quickly I stretched across the mattress to answer the call.

"...Hello?"

"Heather, sweetie, I've missed you so much!"

I raised an eyebrow. _Really_, did she really? Because I remember a certain family message on Total Drama that said otherwise.

"Hi mom." I stated dryly.

"Your father and I have wanted to talk to you for so long." She started. "Did you change your number?"

"Yes, I did mom, because on your last trip to Korea you gave it to at least twenty of my cousins that I've never met. They called me at like 3:00 A.M. every night babbling in Korean."

She giggled. "You speak Korean, Heather."

"Just barely." I lied. I remembered Korean fluently. I just didn't want to give her another reason to giggle.

"Well, whatever. Your sister gave me your new number. I just wanted to see how you're doing."

I'd managed to pick up the whipped cream on my bed and spray some in my mouth. "I'm fine Mom."

_Tell her about the baby._

I gulped. I'd been avoiding that for nearly four months now.

"Can your father and I come visit sometime soon?"

I nearly choked on the whipped cream. I could hear mother wince back in concern.

"Are you okay dear?" She asked, letting me get through my coughs.

"No you can't visit." I choked out, gathering air back into my lungs. There was no way I was letting them anywhere near my apartment. Not now.

There was a pause, which made my muscles tense up. I heard conversation going on in the background.

"Oh, hold on Heather, your grandmother wants to talk to you."

"Wait, Mom no-"

Oh God. I had completely forgotten that she'd moved in with them. I bit my lip as I heard the phone being passed around the room. If there was one thing about my grandmother, it was that she knew everything. She could smell a lie from a mile away.

"Heather?" She answered in her small but condescending voice.

"Annyeonghaseyo halmeoni." I knew she preferred that I spoke in Korean when I talked to her.

"Mwonga jalmos-ibnikka?"

"No nothing's, wrong, I'm-"

"_Hangug-ui._"

Irritably, I correct myself and switched back to Korean.. "Nan gwaenchanh-a." I assured her. I knew she could see right through me though.

"Dangsin-eun imsin?"

My face went completely pale again. She straight up asked was I pregnant. "Grandma give the phone back to Mom."

"Hajiman-"

"Jigeum!" I ordered. Normally I'd never be so forward with her, but I had to get the phone away from her. After hearing my grandma mother grumble something in Korean my mother answered the phone again.

"Dear, why did Halmeoni just call you an ungrateful little twerp?"

I couldn't do this anymore. "Mom, I've gotta go."

"Wait no, Heather I-"

"Bye Mom." I ended the call as quickly as I could. I owed a special thanks to my grandmother for putting me in hot water like that. I didn't know how much longer I was going to hide this from my family, but I definitely wasn't ready to tell them yet.

Maybe next month.

* * *

"Heather?"

My eyes drifted open. Slowly I sat up to see Alejandro standing in my doorway, glancing at the food scattered across the mattress. I must have fallen asleep watching Lifetime again. Great.

"Really Heather?" Alejandro walked forward to pick up a half-finished can of pringles. His face said he wasn't happy with me.

"I needed actual food." I snatched the can back and closed the lid. I knew he was just doing what was best for the baby when it came to my diet, but I was so sick of vegetables.

"You consider junk food like this actual food?" He asked.

I shrugged. I knew I was gonna gain weight whether I ate healthy or not, so why not just go straight for the cookies?

Alejandro's eyebrows sank. He went back over towards the door. "I just wanted to tell you my niece is in the living room."

Thaaat's right. He said he was taking care of her this weekend. Did he really have to bring her here though? I'm just not good around toddlers.

"Oh." Was all I could think of to say. "Um...how old is she?"

"Four." Alejandro answered, bending over to pick up some of the scattered wrappers from the carpet. "She's smart however, and she has a pretty good knowledge of how to decipher things, so please, watch what you say around her."

He was referring to my "swearing problem" as he called it. "Fine, whatever."

"Good." Alejandro stated firmly. "I'll be in the living room with her if you need me."

He gradually left the room, dumping the wrappers in my trashcan as he left. Slowly, I leaned back onto my bed. I didn't know exactly what to do now. I was hungry again, and I'd pretty much cleaned out all the junk food around me. Besides, I wanted an actual meal. I'd have to go through the living room to get there however. Right across Al's path. _God_.

I pulled myself to my feet and walked over to the door, starting down the hall. I heard the sound of small, childish laughter as I came closer. She sounded cute to be honest.

"I don't wanna watch that Uncle Allie!" Alejandro's niece giggled and pointed at the T.V. She was cute, adorable even. I knew Alejandro was just her uncle, but for some reason I saw the family resemblance.

"What? I thought you loved Dragon Tales!" Alejandro's voice was awkwardly higher pitched and softer than it normally was. I guess he had to tone down the intimidating quality in his voice when he was talking to a four year old. He glanced over at me as I appeared in the doorway.

"Hey Heather." He spoke in tone that I couldn't get a definite emotion from.

"Hi..." I spoke unsurely.

His niece's eyes pulled away from the television and over to me. She looked dumbfounded, but distrusting. Her eyes were bright green, just like Alejandro's. I've never felt so uncomfortable with a kid before; they were just so piercing.

"Lucy, this is Heather." Alejandro didn't introduce me as anything. Good. It kept confusion from forming.

Lucy's eyes wandered up and down my figure, like she was thinking of something to say. How was it that I was being intimidated by a four year old?

"Are you and Uncle Allie having a baby?"

That question definitely caught me off guard. How the hell did she know about that?

"Lucy!" Alejandro instantly shushed his niece and looked back over to me. "She doesn't know what she's saying, it's been a long day-"

"You and Uncle Jose were talking about in the car, remember Allie?"

Okay, _now_ I was mad. My eyes narrowed at him. I hoped that he could feel how pissed I was. His face went into an expression of uneasiness.

"A word, Alejandro." I snapped, my eyes still glaring at him.

Almost shamefully, Alejandro rose from the couch and walked over towards me. I grabbed his arm and pulled around the corner and out of his niece's earshot.

"You told your brother?! What the hell Alejandro?!" I was trying to keep as much composure as I could while still getting across how mad I was.

"Actually I didn't need to tell him because _you_ did." Alejandro snapped back.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He sighed heavily and pulled me closer towards him. "Lucy accidentally dialed your number on my phone earlier. My phone that's set up with my car."

Shit. This actually was my fault. "You could've said something!" I fired back.

"He was sitting right there! What was I supposed to say?"

"Oh I don't know, 'Hey Heather I've got my brother in the car with me so I can't talk'."

"He would've known something was up then!" Alejandro lowered his voice again. "He's not gonna tell my parents. I forced him not to."

"I remember you complaining about how evil you brother was. Did he really let it go that easy?"

"With seventy-five dollars and free drinks from my job, yes, he did."

I almost wanted to laugh. Alejandro was supposed to be this stealthy, intimidating guy but he had to bargain with his brother to get him to keep a secret. "What about your niece?"

"I'll handle that." He assured me. "If she asks anymore questions just don't give too much away, okay?"

I nodded, but with a distrusting look. Alejandro led us both back out to the living room.

"So are you gonna have a baby?" Lucy asked again.

Damn, this kid just didn't quit. I could see an vexed look wash over his face. "Yes. Lucy...We're having a baby. But you can't tell your daddy about this, okay?" Alejandro told her.

There was a moment of silence before Lucy responded with a chirp of "Okay." and went back to watching the t.v.. It was weird. I had the feeling that this wasn't the last of that we were gonna hear from her.

"Hey Lucy," I started. She looked back over at me. "There's a park not too far from here. You should get your uncle to take you."

Lucy perked up and clutched onto Alejandro's arm. "Can we go Allie? Can we?!"

"Um...not today Lucy." I could tell he hated telling her "no".

Her face sank somewhat. "Is it because of your allergies?"

I snickered into my hand, only to get a glare from Alejandro. He had _allergies_, like a _twelve-year old_.

"Yeah Lucy. You remember how bad they are, right?" He asked her, not taking his glare away from my snickering face. "It's normal for adults to have allergies, Heather."

"You can go from Jamaica to the Swiss alps but you can't handle going outside with a few flowers?" My laughter became more evident, and it was pissing of Al even more.

"Would you please stop-"

The sound of the door opening and shutting halted his statement. I guess Kiki was back. But I heard more than one person's footsteps come down the hall. I saw Kiki come forward first, her bag slung over her shoulder. She'd probably just come from her evening classes. Then there was another, shorter person behind her, definitely a guy. I couldn't see who he was because he stayed back in the darkness of the hall.

"Hey Heather, Al." Kiki greeted the both of us as she walked through the living room. Her eyes stopped on Lucy, causing a smile to appear on her face. "And who's this little cutie?" Kiki had a thing for kids, she was good with them.

"I'm Lucy!" She said eagerly. Well damn. She didn't give me even an ounce of that much happiness when she said hi to me.

"She's my niece." Alejandro finished for her. Kiki nodded.

"Well hello, Ms. Lucy. Hope you're havin' fun."

Lucy nodded and slid closer to her uncle. God their relationship was too adorable.

I looked back down the hall, still attempting to make out who she'd brought with her. "Um, Kiki." I grabbed her attention. "You wanna introduce your friend?"

Kiki turned her torso towards the hall. "Who him? Oh that's just my friend Noah. We have class together. Hey Noah, come in here, introduce yourself."

"Ugh, fine. I was hoping I could stay hidden."

_Wait. _

I recognized that sarcastic voice anywhere. That wasn't just any Noah. That was _the _Noah. The same Noah from years ago. When he stepped into the light I could see just how right I was.

His eyes almost went as wide from shock as Alejandro and mine's did. He didn't look that different. He was still easily identifiable in the face. He'd just cut his shoulder-length brown hair into a more mature look, a little bit of it came down over his eye. He sported huge glasses and looked like the epitome of a hipster. He was snobbish enough to pull it off after all.

"Noah." Was all I could say. I was dumbfounded.

Noah looked over at Alejandro, who just stared back in shock. I had never expected to see him again.

"Well...this is awkward." He finally spoke, tucking his phone into his jacket pocket.

"Do ya'll know each other or something?" Kiki was confused. Could she not see that he was the same contestant from the show?

"Total Drama." We all said in unison.

"Oh-oh yea...I didn't even make that connection...wow." She bit her lip. "I guess this is an awkward little reunion for you guys."

Noah's eyes instantly went to my stomach, and then over to Alejandro, who still didn't know what to say. His lips parted at the sight. "Oh my God. Don't tell me." He pointed to me, then to Alejandro, and then slowly brought his fingers together. "You two...and now she's...Oh my God this is priceless."

He barely even said anything after that, he just sat back giving us both judging looks. "As if you two weren't cute enough antagonistic egomaniacs back on the show, so you had to go and make a little one." His voice dripped with that same annoying sarcasm.

"Noah, I see you've embraced your homosexuality." He did sound sassier after all, if that were possible.

"At least I didn't knock up a former cast-mate." He snapped, blowing a lock of his hair out of his eyes. "I swear if they ever did a 'Where are they now' special on Total Drama this would be pure gold."

"That's enough, Noah." Alejandro's voice almost scared me. He wasn't using that cutesy voice he had with his niece. "Not only are your comments rude, they're unnecessary. We'd both appreciate it if you'd just go back to whatever it is you were doing and leave us alone."

Wow. He handled that much better than I would've. It worked to. Noah gave us both one last once-over and followed Kiki back to her room. Al glanced back up at me.

"Don't let people like him get to you, okay? Stress is bad for the baby."

* * *

"Come on Allie!" Lucy called to her uncle as she dashed through the tall grasses, her hair blowing a bit in the wind.

I followed close behind, but Alejandro lagged behind. They'd stayed over my place last night. Lucy had run out of energy right there on the couch, and Al insisted that he'd rather not drive all the way across town to his place just to drive back the next day. So, rather than arguing with him, I just gave him a couple extra blankets and let him crash in the living room.

Lucy had pounced on Al as soon as she woke up, begging that they go to the park I'd told them about. He reluctantly agreed. I decided to tag along with him. If his allergies were as bad as he'd described he'd probably need help.

I looked back at Alejandro as he caught up. "Why do you have your hood pulled up like that?" He'd traded his normal leather jacket for a an oversized grey sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and drawstrings drawn tightly. Only his nose and mouth were visible.

"Because." He sniffled. "Of my allergies." He sneezed over his shoulder and wiped his nose with his sleeve. So attractive.

"Oh come on, they can't be that bad." I tugged down his hood only to be met with red, puffy, bloodshot green eyes. The top half of his face was flushed a rose color and dark circles had begun to form under his eyes. Damn, he wasn't kidding.

"Jesus Christ." I winced back, only to be given a scowl.

"If I ever bring Lucy over here again, please don't remind her about this." He told me in between coughs. He quickly passed me by, wanting to catch up to Lucy.

"Lucy?" He called. The park was just on the other side of dense woods, but I was hoping Lucy would stop before we got there. "Lucy where'd you go?"

A slow, but sure panic set in. I saw something he hadn't yet, Lucy's pink elephant lying in the grass with Lucy nowhere to be found. Quickly I looked around. "Lucy?! Lucy?!"

I dashed over to Al, although it hurt my ankles. "Isn't that hers?" I pointed to elephant. I would've ignored it just to keep Al at bay, but I was genuinely concerned. People have gotten kidnapped in these woods before.

"Lucy?! LUCY WHERE ARE YOU?" He was yelling now, in a frantic state that I've never seen him in, not even back on the show.

"She probably ran into the forest." I hated to admit. But if we had any chance of finding her, it'd be best to check there.

Alejandro didn't even say anything, he just ran faster than I've ever seen him run into the woods yelling Lucy's name. He was panicking on the inside, I could feel it. I couldn't run after him, my ankles would've given out. All I did was crouch down in the grass and wait.

Al didn't come back out for probably twenty-minutes, which worried me. For his niece, not him. I heard the small footsteps followed by Al's thankful voice.

"Lucy, don't ever do that again, alright?" I looked up and saw him walking out hand in hand with Lucy. She didn't looked stirred at all. If anything she looked a bit annoyed and confused.

"I just wanted to see the park."

"You have to wait, for us." He crouched down in front of her. "I don't know what I would've done if I couldn't find you."

It was a sweet moment that made me feel bit sick. He really did care about her, a lot. I've never seen him get that scared before, even though he held it in to keep Lucy calm.

_I really hope he cares about the baby like that. _God I hated thinking sappy things like that, but I let it go when he pulled his niece into hug; that was genuine love. Something I hadn't even come close to in years.

* * *

**I swear I'm turning this into a game of "how many character cameos can I shove into one chapter". **

**And by that I mean don't be surprised if you see some other characters float by in future chapters. ;)**

**I guess you could kinda call this a filler chapter, just to help the time pass along. **

**I don't own:**

**Marley and Me**  
**Turning Tables by Adele**  
**Finding Nemo**  
**Pringles**  
**Dragon Tales**

**~DUECES**


	6. Loose Lips

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"Where are you going?" Alejandro sat on the extra chair I kept in the corner of my room, the one that I usually kept shopping bags on. He didn't even feel the need to ask before he came into my room, he just entered on his own free will; even when I was changing my clothes. He insisted that we'd already seen each other completely naked, so what was there to hide?

Did he really have to know my every move though? It seemed like he was obsessed with knowing exactly where I was, even though most of the week he was taking his classes.

I went from my closet over to my mirror, slipping on an oversized blue and black sweater as I walked. "I'm going out with my sister." I told him, digging through the drawer in front of the mirror for my usual perfume.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He had the right to question me then. I wasn't even sure if it was a good idea. My sister had invited me out of nowhere to go out to lunch and spend some time together. It was weird. She never usually acted that nice unless it was my birthday or something.

"What do you think I have the sweater on for?" It hid my stomach which was starting to show more noticeably.

"She's your sister, I would assume that she would notice if something was different about you." He insisted. I could tell he was against me going.

"She'll notice but she won't say anything." I went back over to my bed and slid my black boots on my feet. "She's like a snake in the grass. She waits for the perfect moment to bring it up and ruin everyone's night."

"So she's like you."

I sat up and glared at Alejandro, which only made him give me a sly grin.

"I'm gonna try my best to hide it, okay?"

How long was I going to keep hiding this? I was a little over four and half months along and I just wanted to get this freaking weight off my chest.

"Do you have like thirty bucks I could borrow?" I had my own money, I just didn't feel like spending it.

"What for?" He started to reach into his back pocket and pull out his wallet.

Why did he have to question everything? "My jeans barely fit anymore because my ass is getting huge, now please give me the damn money."

He looked at me as if he wanted to laugh, but he handed me the cash. I turned away from him and took my bag from the wall, slipping in random things from around my room. I never let Al touch this bag in particular. Not with the layer of stashed junk food I had on the bottom.

"You know," His voice surprised me. "I still think you look just as good as you did four and a half months ago."

I turned with my my eyes narrowed. What was he after?

"What? I can't give compliments to the mother of my child?"

Alright then.

I didn't say anything, I just leaned forward to tie my hair in a bun. It was long and got in the way a lot, I just never brought myself to cut that much of it after what had happened years ago. For some reason it seemed to keep Alejandro entertained. He did say he liked my hair either way.

There was a loud car horn beep from outside. No consideration for anyone else in the complex. That was definitely my sister.

"I'll see you later I guess." I took one last look in the mirror and started towards the door.

"See you later baby."

_What._

_Did he just call me..._

...Whatever. He probably said it by accident.

I quickly jogged down the stairs and out the front door to see Nicole, parked like an asshole, but waiting for me to get down. She smiled when she saw me. Fake.

"Heather come on! Get your ass moving we got places to go!"

I still had no idea where _exactly_ she was taking me; I still slid reluctantly into the passenger's seat to be met with loud pop music blaring in my face and the smell of cherries. She smiled at me as I tossed my purse in the backseat.

"You ready?" Nicole asked, sliding her sunglasses back on her eyes. They were gray, like mines. It was one of the few qualities we shared. She still had that same black pixie cut from years ago when she'd chopped all her hair off.

I nodded, even though I didn't know where she was taking me. Nicole wasted no time tearing out of my apartment complex, nearly riding up on the sidewalk as she did. She wasn't the best driver, but she got where she needed to go.

We went through stoplight after stoplight before she spoke up again. It surprised me, I was kind of lost in my own thoughts.

"So, I thought I saw a guy in your window with you. Was I right?"

I gulped. And so it begun.

"He's my friend." I answered. Had no idea what else to say.

"If he's just your friend why was he in your room?"

"Because he was helping me with something, Nicole."

Well that didn't sound suspicious at all.

"Huh." Nicole pursed her lips. "It's kind of warm out for a sweater like that, don't you think?"

"I'm cold." I answered.

Her eyes canvassed me up and down and went back to the road. She was thinking of something else to say, I could feel it. Surprisingly, she didn't say anything at all. She just kept her head focused on the road. Thank God.

* * *

"Table for two?" The perky blonde hostess nearly stepped on my foot as she appeared in front of me, her braces flashing as she smiled. Nicole had taken me to Blue Robin, just for a quick lunch before something else.

"Uh, yeah...I think." I stepped back from her a bit, looking back at Nicole for reassurance. Nicole kept her sunglasses on indoors, just like I used to. She gave the blonde a judging look.

"Yes, two please, Cathy is it?"

Her name tag said "Cady" but whatever.

Cady led us both happily to a two seating table by a corner and a window. She babbled for a few minutes before leaving us alone, thank God.

Nicole and I met eyes again, she was smiling oddly, like she was waiting to say something to me. I looked away and began fiddling with the silverware. What the hell was wrong with me? I guess I did look guilty as hell.

"So tell me, when's that big dance performance for your company again? I'd love to go."

Her voice sounded like she wanted to make me uncomfortable. "It's the fourth of June but I'm not-"

"What, did something happen? Are you not in it anymore?"

I fake-grinned a little, my eyes were wide and I was trying to keep from shouting at her to stop interrogating me. "Terry um...asked me to take a break. He said I needed one."

"Why? You look completely healthy to me. Or is that not the case?" She brought her hands together under her chin, waiting for me to respond.

Before I could say anything, a waitress came up beside me, closer than I'd wanted.

"Hello there! I'm your waitress tonight, my name's Izzy and lemme tell ya, we've got some great specials going on tonight..."

My head whipped up towards her. It couldn't be.

_It was. _

How many freaking former castmates was I going to see again?

Izzy kept chattering about the specials for some time before she actually looked down at me. She nearly dropped her notepad at the sight.

"Oh my God, _Heather_?!"

Why did she have to screech my name across the entire restaurant? "Hi...Izzy."

Izzy definitely lost her cool after that. She leaned over onto the table right in my face. "I can't believe it! It's been so long since the show! How the hell are ya?"

"I-"

"You totally look like exactly the same, like your hair is way longer but I guess it would grow back after all these years right?"

Nicole didn't say anything, she was enjoying my discomfort with the situation. Did she _know_ that Izzy worked here?

"This is like sooo crazy. I never thought I'd see anyone again after the show." She put her pen to her lips. "Well actually I do still talk to Noah. He's like sooo much gayer though now. If that's possible."

My heart stopped. Knowing Noah, he definitely would've told Izzy about the incident at my apartment. And Izzy could never keep her mouth shut for more than two seconds.

"Wait, he did tell me something about you! He saw you like last month with Alejandro and he said that you two were-"

"IZZY." I stopped her just in time. Her green eyes came back to look at me. I gave her probably the coldest stare I could manage to give anyone. I hoped that it got across that I wanted her to shut the fuck up.

She looked over at my sister, and then back at me. 'Ohhh...is this your sister? You probably don't want her to know you're pregnant right?"

"I KNEW IT!" Nicole stood from the table and slammed her hands down in triumph. Wait, was this whole thing a setup to get me to admit I was pregnant? "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

Izzy just bit her lip back in regret. _Oh it's too late now to regret Izzy. _I thought.

"Oops." She said, tucking her notepad back into her apron. "Sorry Heather." She began to back away. "I'll um-be back when you guys are ready to order."

I let my head slump onto the table, causing my bun to fall forward. I couldn't bear to look my sister in the face, I knew she was eating this right up.

"I knew I was right, or at least Halmeoni was."

My head shot up. "What do you mean Halmeoni was right?"

Nicole smirked and raised her brow "Ever since that phone call Mom made to you she's been going around the house trying to convince everyone you were acting weird because you're pregnant. She even told me the last time I was over there." Her phone appeared in her hand. "Halmeoni's always right, you know that."

"So do Mom and Dad-"

"She's by trying to convince them but they just don't wanna believe that their little girl got knocked up and lied about it." Nicole finished. She was checking her makeup in her phone. "Their on the verge though. _I_ just wanted to hear it from you. And I guess that it's true."

I sighed and sank down in the seat. I was clearly running out of the amount of time I had to hide this any longer. Nicole looked back at me and placed her phone on the table, sliding it over to me. My expression became confused.

"Heather, I honestly am just trying to help you." She started. "I think you should just tell them now, because if you wait any longer they're just gonna keep pestering you until the truth comes out."

I've never been so torn in my life. About 70% of me wanted to pick up the phone and call my mother, but the rest was still thinking about how Alejandro would react. Nicole reached out and pushed her phone a little closer.

"Come on Heather. Just do it."

I bit my lip, closed my eyes and took the phone in my hand.

Well this was going to be fun.

* * *

Alejandro's POV

"Sing it Al!"

Molly's voice surprised the hell out of me. I nearly cracked my skull open when I hit my head on the shelf above me, trying to stand up to see her properly. So what I sang a little when I thought no one was around? Molly didn't say anything though, she grinned with her arms folded, chuckling at my dismay.

"You should really try out for like the Voice or something." She joked._ Oh Molly_.

I put the glasses I'd had in my hand down on the bar counter in front of me. I was thankful I hadn't dropped them. "Why are you here so early? Your shift doesn't start until ten."

Safari was just about to reopen after the lunch rush, the bar in particular. Molly was a waitress for the actual restaurant. She'd taken a liking to me for some reason, not even because of my charm.

"I picked up a shift." She quickly answered, looking for her apron that she kept behind the bar. Apparently it was safer than leaving it in the lockers with the other employees' stuff. "Where you been lately huh? I saw on the chart that you took a couple days off."

"I...just have some other things to deal with right now." I answered vaguely.

"Oh." She smirked and tied her apron. "College stressing you out or something? It's your last year. Don't worry you'll get through."

Riiiight. That wasn't what I was stressed about, but motivational words were never a bad thing.

Molly looked over towards the window. "Aren't those your brothers?"

_Wait, what?_ I turned my head towards the window as well to see my brother Jose practically dragging Carlos towards the doors. Jose looked irritated while Carlos just looked nervous, which was weird seeing as how he was the eldest. _Why are they here_?

Without even using his hand, Jose kicked the door open with force, still holding tightly onto my brother's wrist. He pulled him over to the bar counter while looking me dead in the eye.

"Can I help you?" I asked, placing my rag down on the counter.

Jose looked at Carlos. "Go on, tell him what happened."

I raised an eyebrow as Carlos gulped and gave me a nervous smile. "Well, um. I was driving Mom and Dad to the airport for their trip to Italy and..."

And what? Jose rolled his eyes and sighed irritably. "Loose lips here told Mom and Dad about the girl you knocked up."

I didn't know until that moment that it was possible to choke on your own spit, which was exactly what happened. "_What?!_ How did you even-?"

"Lucy told me." Carlos admitted. I could tell how uneasy he was getting. "She said it was

secret, heh heh."

"So what compelled you to tell Mom and Dad?!" I couldn't tell if I was more mad or scared.

Carlos wrenched his hand in his hair. "Well they just kept going on and on about how weird and secretive you'd been acting lately and that I would never lie to them if I knew something was wrong and I just sort of-let it slip."

"Carlos!¿Cómo puedes joderme mi encima gusta así?!" I groaned. They both knew I typically didn''t speak Spanish unless I was pissed. I brought my hand to my forehead and sighed angrily. "Whatever, I'll deal with them later."

"See, that's the thing." Jose started. "As soon as they heard the word "pregnant" they made Carlos take them back to their house and their on their way here right now."

Carlos laughed nervously. "Yea, we managed to beat them here."

I could feel myself shattering to pieces. Out of all the fucking ways they could've found out it had to be this way.

"If I were you I'd call them and tell them to meet you at that girl's house instead. You know whenever Mom's mad she always causes a scene. And seeing as how you're about to open I don't think you'd want that."

Jose was right. The last thing I needed was my mother cursing me out in Spanish at my job.

"About this girl..." Carlos pulled my attention back towards him. "Is she hot?"

I was about two seconds away from punching him in the mouth for getting me into this mess before I heard a loud yell from the north entrance of the restaurant.

"ALEJANDRO SANTIAGO RAMON BURROMERTO."

GODDAMIT. My parents. Were here. Kill me.

My father still had on his tuxedo, probably getting ready for a diplomacy meeting in Italy. My mom didn't even acknowledge my brothers as she shoved them aside and nearly climbed over the bar counter to get to me. She was only 5"4 and and she managed to grab my collar and pull me down from the six feet I was.

"What your brother is telling me about you getting a girl pregnant better not be true Alejandro." Her English was getting much better,but still heavy on the Mexican accent.

"Oh it's true." Jose smirked and looked over at me. This little bitch was trying to screw me over. "Heard it straight from the girl myself."

Was my father even going to say anything? All he did was just glare at me as my mother nailed into me.

"Who is she? How old is she? Is she Mexican?" My mother pulled me closer with every question.

"Didn't you say she was Korean, Al?" Jose interjected again.

"Korean?!" She glared directly into my eyes. "Where does she live? Take us there. I want to meet her now."

"Mamá I have to work in fifteen minutes-"

"Take this shift off." My father finally stated, lowering his glasses so he could see me clearly. "I don't care how far away she lives, take us there."

I knew he was seriously mad at that moment, something I hadn't seen his be since Jose and I were teenagers. We held eye contact for a good minute before I stripped off my apron and grabbed my keys as I walked around the bar counter. Jose chuckled as I took that agonizingly long walk of shame to the door, my parents trailing behind me. This was going to be fun.

* * *

NORMAL POV

"Is this her apartment?" Alejandro's mother pushed past the two men in front of her and pounded her fist against the door, screaming in Spanish while doing so.

"Mamá would you stop?!" Alejandro pulled her hand away from the door, only to get a glare from her. "I have a key."

Shortly after unlocking the door, it swung open with Heather standing on the opposite side of it. Her eyes were wide with silent horror as her eyes met Alejandro's.

"...Heather, these are my...parents." She could tell he wasn't saying all he wanted to at the moment, not with them standing right there and staring directly at her.

"Heather dear, who's at the door?"

Alejandro didn't recognize the voice that came from inside Heather's apartment. Heather bit her lip at turned back towards the hall. "Actually, can you guys come here for a second?"

Slowly, two middle-aged looking adults appeared behind Heather, looking just as confused as Alejandro did. "These are _my _parents, Alejandro."

* * *

**Sorry if this feels like another filler chapter, I'm just getting somewhere. **

**Review please!**

**~DEUCES**


	7. Rude Awakenings

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"So this is the girl Carlos was telling me about?" Mrs. Burromerto's eyes ran up and down Heather's figure. She spoke as if she wasn't even there.

"Excuse me," Heather's mother interjected with a glare. "'The girl' has a name."

The Mexican woman scowled at her, then looked back at Alejandro. He was standing right beside Heather in the awkward six-person triangle they'd created in Heather's living room. It definitely wasn't the most appropriate place to have a conversation like this in, but the two children in the room felt as if they were frozen in place.

"I don't understand, Alejandro." Mrs. Burromerto started again. "How could you do this to yourself? You had so much ahead of you and now it's all going to waste!" Her piercing green eyes darted back to Heather. "And with her?! Of all people it had to be this puta?!"

"Do not call, the mother of my child, a bitch." Alejandro instantly fired back at his mother. It surprised Heather. She never thought he'd be one to speak against his mother on any circumstance.

"Excuse me, Alejandro?" His mother asked, her eyes narrowed. Her dark red blazer clung to her arms as she gestured widely. "How do you even know if this baby is yours?"

"Because I know that she wouldn't lie to me about something like this." Alejandro seemed just annoyed with his mother. The fact that she was being so judgemental.

"Excuse me, I'd appreciate it if you didn't practically call my daughter a whore." Mrs. Cheong interjected, stepping forward towards Alejandro's mother. She was a bit taller than her, probably by two or so inches; but Mrs. Burromerto kept the same intimidating quality that she always had.

"You let your daughter run around and get knocked up at twenty one, who am I not to think she's slept around?"

Damn. His mother was brutal.

"You seem to forget that it take two people to make a baby, and if it weren't for your son she wouldn't be pregnant."

"Or, maybe if your daughter could keep her legs closed, that would have kept all this from happening!"

"Both of you, stop it!" Alejandro barked, sparking a fire in their side of the triangle. "Stop trying to pin this entire thing on one person because we were both reckless and this is both of our faults!"

Mrs. Burromerto brought her hand to her forehead. "Why did you not at least use protection?!"

"The condom broke, Mrs. Burromerto." Heather finally spoke up, shocking the woman.

"Oh, so now you can talk!" His mother exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

Out of the midst of everything, Mr. Cheong stepped further forward and looked at the both of them. "Do you two even know the responsibilities that come with raising a child?" His face had a concerned and disappointed look on it. "Have you two even thought this through? Can you even afford to have a child?"

"You're in college, Alejandro! How do you plan on managing school and a baby?" Mrs. Burromerto asked.

A lump built in Heather's throat. It felt like the weight and responsibilities of the real world that she'd been ignoring had come crashing down on her. She hadn't thought about the expenses, or her career after the baby was born. She hadn't thought about how little time Alejandro actually had to spend with her. She ignored everything until this very moment.

Alejandro inhaled sharply. "I've decided, that...I'm going to put off finishing school-until after things are sorted out."

A horrified look washed over Mrs. Burromerto's heavily made-up face. "You are dropping out?! This was your last year! Now you are just giving all of that up?!"

"Well, since you two decided to cut me off senior year and I have to support myself, I have no choice."

That made Heather feel a bit sick to her stomach. He was honestly giving up a lot to support them.

Mr. Burromerto looked up. "We'll help you financially." His voice was extremely deep, and lacked the heavy accent that Alejandro's mother's voice had.

Mrs. Burromerto turned to her husband to look incredulously at him. "He got himself into this mess! He needs to learn the consequences-"

"Teresa he is our son." He stated firmly. "And they owe it to their child to be able to provide for them. So until things are sorted out, we'll be helping out."

Mrs. Burromerto just seemed fed up with her husband, and didn't say much after he spoke. Heather just assumed that she didn't know what to say.

"...Heather." Her mother sighed. "I can't say that I'm not a bit upset for you hiding this from me, but honestly you made the decision to raise the child, and I'm fine with that as long as you know what you're getting yourself into."

"Yes, are you prepared for sleepless nights and putting someone besides yourselves first?" Mrs. Burromerto's voice had a acidic quality to it, as if she wanted them to suffer.

Alejandro and Heather looked unsurely at each other; they could tell they worth both thinking the same thing.

"If that's what it's going to take, then yes." Alejandro finally responded, putting out the last few words that anyone in the rom said. Their mothers shared a glance at each other. They weren't quite done with each other, but they had gotten their initial message across. Alejandro and Heather knew what was coming to them.

* * *

"Oh my God." Heather walked over to her bed and flopped down on her back, throwing her arms up as she did. "I had no idea your mom was so..."

"Bitchy?" Alejandro sat himself down next to her on the foot of Heather's bed, his arms folded. "Yeah, I know. I had endure eighteen years of that."

Even after they'd agreed to accept the consequences of having a child, it'd still been a long night of arguing and acting as the mediators between two mothers that just weren't seeing eye to eye. It had become a little rough later in the night, because they'd refused to leave until everything was sorted out. But once Alejandro made his mother to stop calling Heather a "whore" in Spanish and explained that they both were going to figure things out, things calmed down a little. Heather's mother kept going on about how she expected them to be more responsible and other things along that line. Her father just got on the back of whatever her mother had to say.

"Your father barely said anything." Heather huffed out.

"He's more of a 'Sit back and judge silently' type of guy." Alejandro leaned back next to Heather. "He was thinking things, he just didn't say them."

At least the night somewhat ended on an okay note. Somewhere in the middle of all the commotion, their mothers had found common ground about how irresponsible their children were and ended up sparking normal conversation, but complaining _about_ them.

"How did we even hide it for this long?" Heather asked.

Alejandro shrugged. "Through a lot of lies and deception." He answered. "At least they kind of were on the same level at the end."

"Uh, yea. They even started suggest baby names." Heather scoffed. "I'm actually glad my grandmother wasn't here. She would've made me give it some ancient Korean name."

That was the first time she'd heard Alejandro laugh in a long time. It was a bit weird, seeing as how they were supposed to hate each other. He turned onto his side and looked over at her.

"Have you, you know... thought about names at all?"

"Ugh, not even. I'm still trying to figure out things financially. Besides we've got time."

"Why not just get it out of the way though? Better late than never right?" Alejandro did have a point.

Heather sat herself up and leaned onto her knees. She stood, went over to her nightstand drawer, and pulled out a bag of Hershey's kisses. "Fine, whatever." She replied, pulling the package open.

Alejandro lowered his brows. "Do I need to do a sweep of your bedroom for junk food? Because every time I come in here you seem to have more."

"Maybe if you give me actual food I wouldn't have to hide it." Heather replied dryly, popping a kiss in her mouth. "Names."

"Right." Alejandro brought his hand to his face. A smile formed on his face as he looked back at Heather. "How about Alejandro Burromerto Jr., for a boy of course."

Heather coughed. "Um, no?! There is now way, I'm letting you name _my baby_ after yourself."

"We could call him Jr." Alejandro insisted, the same grin still on his face,

"No." Heather stated firmly, glaring at him.

"Alright, what about Miguel, or Diego?"

"How about Elliot or Daniel, you know something not so, um, _Mexican_?" She urged.

"Mexican culture is a beautiful thing, Heather."

She scoffed. "I'm sure it is, but I'm pretty sure if I decided to name our child 'Jung-Hwa' you'd have a problem with it too."

Alejandro chuckled. "You don't even embrace your culture."

Heather slit her eyes and stepped a bit closer to him. "I've basically spent every summer since I was born in Seoul, speaking nothing but Korean and being surrounded by those little shits I call my cousins. Don't tell me I don't 'embrace' my culture."

"I've never heard you speak Korean."

"You don't need to." She stated dryly, going over to her dresser to put the candies down. "And just so you know, babies come in the female gender as well."

"Okay then, how about this." He stood from the bed and started over towards her. "If It's a girl, you can name it. If it's a boy, I get to name it."

Heather's eyes narrowed. "Fine, but Alejandro Jr. is not an option."

"It'll grow on you." Alejandro folded his arms and gave her a smug look.

"If you name my child that I'm taking custody and leaving." She pushed past him and over towards the door. "I'm serious."

"You know you wouldn't do that." Alejandro caught up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He must've known that would instantly get on her nerves. "You love me too much."

Heather scoffed. "As if, now get off of me."

Alejandro did nothing but bring his arms above her stomach and tighten his grip slightly. Heather struggled a bit in his grasp, but overall she knew he was way stronger than she was. "What about you hmm? What would you name it?"

"I don't know, probably Jade, or Alyssa or something. Just not Alejandro Jr."

He raised a brow. "Alyssa Burromerto. It has a nice ring to it. Not as good as Alejandra could be. But nice."

"Okay get off me." Heather managed to pull free from his grasp and continue down the hall. All she could do was pray that this child was a girl.

* * *

Alejandro's POV

I finally had time to get to the gym. I hadn't been since I found out Heather was pregnant, and my muscles definitely needed a good workout. With classes and work, and dealing with her coming first, I barely had time for anything. I'd finally developed enough comfort to leave Heather by herself. It'd been a little less than a month since the whole parental thing, and with her mom constantly checking up on her it just made me feel a little awkward to be there.

The one thing I didn't like about the gym however was the fact that I always got a bunch of onlookers looking to start a fight or man-off with me. I could never just do my routine and leave because some steroid-powered lunkhead always wanted pick a fight. I managed to make it in without a hitch this time; and I actually got pretty into my workout without anyone approaching me and asking me to "stop showing off". It wasn't my fault I was physically fit.

"Augh!" I had forgotten my phone was in my front pocket, ringing on vibrate and giving me the most uncomfortable sensation a man could ever feel. That made for a few awkward stares from people around me when jumped suddenly and dropped the dumbbell in my hand. Never, the front pocket. Never.

I worked my phone out of the pocket of my basketball shorts and saw that it was Heather. I knew she would need me at some point today.

"Hello?" I answered, lowering my voice from the nosy gym-goers around me.

I didn't hear anything but loud shuffling and muffled voices. I squinted and listened a little closer. "Hello?" I asked again. No response. "Heather are you th-"

"Heather, you want pizza? I'm ordering."

Was that Kiki? Her voice was a little too unclear to tell.

"Oh God yes. I need actual food."

That was definitely Heather. Did she...pocket dial me?

It sounded as if I was listening through fabric, probably her back pocket.

I should've hung up, I know I should've. I couldn't help myself though; this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"You're eating whatever I order." Kiki said, her voice moving farther away.

"As long as it'd pizza I don't care." Heather answered.

I leaned onto my knees as my face sank. Heather assumed that I tried to keep her from eating junk food for no reason. But she's never seen an eleven pound baby before, and I have.

There were a few minutes of silence before I heard them speak again.

"Alright, pizza's comin'." Kiki came closer again.

Heather sighed and said more about how I was trying to control her diet. I had good reasons. If all she was going to do was complain about me, I should've hung up right then and there.

"You know I've actually got a question for you that I've been wondering about for a while." Kiki started. I could hear Heather shuffle on whatever she was sitting on. "I hope this isn't too personal of a question, but...how was Alejandro in bed that night you two hooked up?"

My ears perked up instantly.

"Oh...that." Heather stated. Why the hell did she say it like that? It remained silent for a few moments before she spoke up again. "Okay, listen, I'd never tell Alejandro this because he'd never let it go...but..."

_But what_?

"It was...it was amazing." She admitted, causing Kiki to giggle loudly. I was practically mashing my phone into my ear trying to hear what they were saying.

"I want details, now." Kiki demanded.

Heather sighed. "Fine, but this stays between us, got it?" I assume that Kiki nodded in response.

"Well...I was kind of drunk...but I still remember that Al was probably the best I've had in a long fucking time." She started."The night that we went back to his condo...he just pinned me against a wall and tried to get some there as soon as we walked in. But then later he just picked me up and took me to his room... God I hate pumping up his ego but I gotta admit, he knows his way around the bedroom."

I smirked. This was priceless.

"He just knew exactly where to touch me and he whispered things in my ear...and he just felt so...oh my God."

"Is he big?" Kiki asked.

_Kiki._ _That little pervert. _

"Uh, yeah. Fucking huge."

"Oooh, girl. He had to be good."

"Yeah...actually the sex was really hot. I mean, when he wasn't pulling my hair."

Impulse. That was completely on impulse.

"See Heather, I think you forget sometimes how freakin' fine he is. Like you just have this sexy, good looking Latino guy just hanging around your apartment and you do nothing about it. I'd be all over him."

Well then, that was one hell of a compliment.

"I know he's hot. Believe me, I've seen every inch of him." Something crinkled, probably chips. "But something about a guy knocking you up is just a turn off."

I was half drunk. I know I didn't make the best decisions even when I was _tipsy_. I'd thought we'd already gotten past that.

"But, bottom line is...ugh...Alejandro is a sex god. I hate to admit it, but he just knows how to please a girl."

_Sex god?_

They didn't say much about me after that; their conversation had just gone back to other things that I didn't honestly care that much about. But, I had some interesting things to hold over Heather's head now. She really thought I was that great in bed? Oh, this was just too good of information not to use.

I tucked my phone back into my shorts with a grin on my face that had to look ridiculous to the people around me, but I was way too eager to get to Heather's to look normal. This was going to be fun.

* * *

Heather's POV

"Come on." These were new jeans. New. There was no way they couldn't fit.

I guess my body said otherwise.

I was splayed out along my bed, attempting to button my acid wash jeans that I'd found out of pure luck that they were in my size. I'd gone up one, thanks to Alejandro. Honestly I was a little afraid of going into the maternity section to get clothes because I knew that everyone would wonder why such a young looking girl could possibly be looking for maternity clothes, and I definitely wouldn't be in the mood to combat people judging me as a slut.

So old t-shirts that I never thought I'd ever wear and sweatpants were my only option. I wasn't giving up just yet though. What I had on at the moment was a jersey that Alejandro had managed to get from one of his brothers. It was a nice gesture I guess, but I never planned on wearing it until today.

I threw my head back and groaned as I slumped onto the floor, pants still unbuttoned. A pile of clothes were spewed out in front of my closet. All I needed was one freaking pair of jeans to fit. Just one, and I'd be fine. But no. That was too much to ask for

My hair fell over my shoulder and over my left eye. I wanted to order something. Chinese food would make it better. Did I give a fuck what Alejandro said? No.

"Kikiiii!" I yelled, hoping she was still home. "Kiki can you bring me my phone? Kiki pleaseee!" God I am so fucking lazy. The living room was what, like ten steps down the hall?

"Kikiiiii!" No answer. She must have left for class already. Shit.

With my head in my hands, I slumped onto my back. The floor was softer than my bed either way.

OW.

A small object hit my thigh from above. Wait, was she home?

I slowly took my hands away from my eyes. Alejandro stood above me, looking down and smirking with duffle bag over his shoulder. What the hell? I didn't even hear him come in.

"You okay Heather?" He asked.

"...Yes..." This had to look weird. With a few seconds of eye contact, I managed to pull myself back to my feet.

"What, was the floor not comfortable enough?"

"Oh shut up." I shoved him lightly and walked over to my mirror, gathering my hair to put it up.

"You should leave it down, it looks nice that way." Alejandro told me.

I looked slightly over my shoulder. "It's too hot. It makes me feel like I'm wearing a scarf." It probably was the same length as it was five years ago, if not longer.

"Doesn't beauty come with a price?"

"Alejandro what is with the random compliments lately?."

He chuckled and folded his arms. "A beautiful girl deserves beautiful compliments."

My eyes narrowed and my hair slowly slipped from my hand as a turned my torso to give him a look.

For some reason, he didn't respond. Instead, he dropped his bag and began to approach me from behind.

I turned quickly, my hands in front of me. "What are you doing?"

He gave me this weird, lustful glance that I cannot use words to describe how uncomfortable it made me. "Don't act like you don't like it when I touch you."

"What the he-" Alejandro quickly brought his arms to my waist and yanked me closer to him. His eyes stared directly into mine, watching my every move.

"I manage to touch you in 'all the right places', right?" He asked, moving his hand my lower back and stroking lightly. He didn't break eye contact for a second, and just kept staring at my confused and scared face.

'What are you talking about?" I asked; I tried pulling away, but he only gripped me tighter while smiling deviously.

"Oh, so you don't remember?" He was leaning over my shoulder now, his lips centimeters away from my ear. "Tell me more about how amazing you think I am in bed."

I froze as his hand crept farther down my back. "How do you know about-"

"You pocket dialed me earlier, Heather." He whispered. I swear I heard him laugh. "You know, when you were talking to Kiki about that night."

"You eavesdropped on my conversa-ah!" Dammit. He gave my ass a pinch that I definitely wasn't expecting.

"I couldn't help myself." Wait, was he...kissing my neck? "I've been wondering what you thought for a while now, to be honest."

Why is he doing this? "Ah-ahh!" God I hated myself for letting him hear that. He just bit my neck little to sensually. "I was exaggerating-ohh-Alejandro." Shit. Why. Did I say. His name.

He took his lips away from my neck and looked me in the face. He didn't have that same sensual look that he'd had before. He was smirking now, his eyebrow raised and head slightly cocked to the side. "I think you and I both know that's not true. Besides, that flushed look on your face says otherwise."

Alejandro took his hands from my waist and took a few steps back. I put myself back together quickly, tugging my jersey down in the back. "I just wanted to see if I could get you to say my name." He folded his arms. "And you did."

"Wait, you just-so you-God you are such an asshole!" I don't even know why I was that mad.

"What, I was just teasing." He admitted. "I seem to remember you doing that a lot in the past. Especially that specific time when I lead to me getting put in an iron lung."

He was kind of right. "What I said to Kiki was meant for_ her _to hear. Only her."

"Well, I heard it too." Alejandro said. "And I know how much you love all of this." He gestured to his body, which was somewhat sweaty. He probably had just come from the gym.

"Get. Over. Yourself." I stated before going over to my bed.

"Oh come on, don't act like you weren't all over me that night." He told me. "A-Alejandro" His voice had switched to a much higher, mocking tone. "'Oh God, Alejandro fuck me harder please, right there, ahh!'"

I didn't know what to say to that, and I hid my face so he couldn't see me blushing. I just reached for one of the nearest pillows from my bed and chucked across the room. Direct hit.

"Augh!"

"Go, home, I, am, fine!" I don't even know I had that many pillows on my bed, but I managed to throw one with every word, practically backing him out of the room.

"You could've asked nicely!" He shouted. Did I need to get something harder? I managed to back him up so he was just outside of my door. I went over quickly and gripped the knob.

"You should've have listened in on my conversation."

SLAM!

Well done Heather, well done.

* * *

**Augh! what am I even doing with this? I don't know. **

**I just like their relationship**

**~DEUCES**


	8. Manipulations

**Chapter 8**

* * *

**Heather's POV**

"Heather dear, don't you want Japchae?" My mother sat across from me at the table. She was on her phone, but had finally looked up to me. I'd stopped eating about five minutes ago.

"I'm really just not that hungry Mom." I replied, dropping my fork beside my plate.

"You're eating for two now Heather, remember that." She lowered her brows and turned completely around to face me when I didn't respond. "Come on Heather, you know how mad Halmeoni gets when you don't eat what she makes."

"I'll take one for the team this time." I rose from the table, my plate in hand. My Mom stared at me as I took it to the sink and scraped it's contents into the garbage disposal. She just simply insisted that I come over. I was here now, irritated that I wasn't at home in my bed enjoying my worker's comp.

She eyed me as I walked back over and flopped down into my seat.

"Are you even sure it's just one more you're going to get?"

I looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't end up with twins, but both of your aunts and your grandma did. It's kind of a Cheong family tradition."

I cringed. I swear if I ended up having to take care of two little Alejandros running around I'd kill someone. "I don't know." I plainly replied, lifting the tea my grandma had made to my mouth.

She looked me up and down. "How's...Alejandro? Is that his name?"

"Yeah, it is, and he's fine." I was responding a bit too quickly for my mother's liking. Her brows sank at me.

"How far along are you? Have you even gone for an ultrasound yet?"

She was going through her usual round of twenty questions whenever she saw me.

"Five and half months and no I haven't." The thought of getting an ultrasound hadn't even crossed my mind.

"Did you plan on waiting until the baby was born to find out?"

"I don't know Mom! I guess?"

She raised one brow. "You guess, Heather? You and Alejandro have to talk about these things. Have you two talked about anything at all regarding the baby?"

"Ugh, yes! Yes we have! We do! A lot! If not then we'll just figure it out later! Now please stop pestering me with all these questions for the love of God!"

My mother stopped interrogating me after saying that. Instead, she instantly took out her phone and began scrolling through it mindlessly. I couldn't see what she was doing exactly. She brought the phone to her ear. "...Dr. Livingston? Hi, it's Hana, I'm fine. No...I was wondering if I could set up an appointment with you for my daughter..."

My face sank. Did she not see me sitting right here?

Out of boredom, I pushed myself up from the table and walked into the living room. She was probably going to stay on the phone for a good twenty minutes so there was no point in me staying. Just peaking over the couch, I could see my brother's spiky haircut mashed down by a set of headphones. He was sixteen and all he did all day was stay home and play on his x-box all day.

I made my way around to the front of the couch and sat on the one adjacent from him. It was weird seeing him now. When I'd moved out I was eighteen and he was only thirteen. He just looked so different now.

Damien didn't take his eyes away from the game to even glance at me.

"...You still suck just as much as you did before at video games." I tried to start casual conversation.

The soundtrack from the game stopped. He had paused the game and looked over towards me. Oh wow. He had braces now. They had to be fun.

"How's it feel to be knocked up by some random dude?" Damien asked coldly.

He had the nerve to pull a low blow like that. My expression became a glare. "He wasn't 'some random dude', twerp. We've known each other for a few years. Besides, that's none of your business."

"Huh." He turned his head away. "Halmeoni thinks you're a slut you know."

What was his fucking problem? "I doubt that. And either way she still likes me more than she's ever liked you."

"You should've heard her yesterday. She was complaining up a storm about how you couldn't just keep your legs closed."

"That's enough Damien." My father's voice surprised the both of us. How long had he been standing there?

Shockingly, that shut the little twerp up. He unpaused the game and went right back to what he was doing. I looked unsurely at my father. I knew he was still upset with me about the whole pregnancy thing, especially with Alejandro being the father. He hadn't said that much to me since the night I'd told them. I just knew he was pissed on the inside.

"Hey Dad..." I tried to greet him.

He didn't say anything, he just gave me one last disapproving glance before leaving the room and going upstairs. Well that hurt.

"Heather dear! Come back in here! I need to talk to you." My mother called from the kitchen. Good timing too. I had the sudden urge to break those headphones my brother had on in half. I'd just blame it on hormones either way.

I walked back into the kitchen to find my mother pulling her jacket from one of the chairs. "Get your jacket dear, we're going out."

"Um, to where exactly?" I asked, picking my phone up from the table.

"To Dr. Livingston, he was kind enough to let me set up an appointment for today." She answered, pulling her jacket on. "Tell your brother to turn his game off. He's coming."

"Greeaaat." I replied. Just what I needed, more bitterness. "Damien, get in here!" I shouted into the living room.

About two seconds later, he stormed in. "Whatever she told you is a lie-"

"Get your jacket, you're coming with us." My mom picked up her purse from the counter.

"What? Why do I have to go?" Damien complained.

My mother stopped. "Your father's going out and do I need to remind you about what happened the last time your father and I left you here alone?"

"Wait, what happened?" How much had I missed?

"Your brother thought it would be okay to invite one of his little girlfriends over while we were gone." She stared directly at him. "I caught them upstairs half naked."

I burst out laughing. Damien scowled at me, but I could care less. He'd totally gotten cockblocked by our mom. And he was calling _me_ the slut? I could see a little manwhore blossoming in front of me.

"Whatever." He pushed past the both of us and out into the foyer. He still had his little hissy fits like old times.

My mother turned back to me and gestured for me to follow her out. I vaguely remembered Dr. Livingston from years ago, and from what I could remember this was going to be an uncomfortable experience.

* * *

**Normal POV**

Alejandro sat back from the Kiki's laptop and let her glance over his shoulder to read the email she'd been sent. Her face perked up instantly upon finishing the last sentence.

"Oh my God are you serious?! Thank you so much Alejandro!" The tan-skinned girl gave the man a tight hug from behind.

"Really, it's nothing. There's no need to thank me." He told her.

Kiki put her hand on her hip. "No need to thank you? Alejandro you just basically got me out of my college loan debt. That is like a huge weight off my shoulders."

"All it took was a little negotiation with your agency, nothing serious."

"Well whatever you negotiated worked. Hell, with skills like that you should've gone to law school." Kiki admitted.

He chuckled quietly. To be honest that was what his parents wanted, but it just wasn't him.

Kiki snapped her fingers and pointed them at him. "You know what, I'm gonna bake you a pie."

"Oh come on, Kiki that's really not necessary-" Alejandro was cut off by her finger jutting in his face.

"You're getting, a pie. You deserve it." With that the girl walked towards the kitchen, her laptop in hand. He heard her complaining about the debt for a while, and he'd had a good amount of knowledge on negotiations so he just offered to help her out. No big deal.

Alejandro sat back in his seat and tilted his head towards the ceiling. He really had barely anything to do. He didn't have to work at all this week because of problems at the restaurant...and he'd put off finishing school for the time being, which his parents still weren't to happy about. They'd calm down eventually though. Besides, he had to look for another job in the meantime.

His phone let out a small beep of a text alert. He didn't even bother to check it, because he knew it was his mother asking about the baby for the millionth time. She suddenly wanted to become so involved with her second grandchild all of a sudden and help out almost too much.

'_I just want the baby know about it's culture." _Her words rang through his head every time she'd text him.

*CLICK*

The sound of the front door opening and shutting pulled Alejandro from his thoughts. He turned in his chair to see Heather walk in from the hall and drop her bag on the couch.

"Heather, where'd you go?"

The girl turned to face him. He could now see that she had a rather large folder in her hand and was clutching it to her side.

"I was at my parents, I thought I told you." She was starting to regret giving him a key to her apartment.

"What's that?" He asked, eyeing the folder.

Heather brought the folder into both of her hands, and a small grin crept across her face. "Oh nothing. My mom just took me to her doctor to get an ultrasound done."

Alejandro's eyes went wide. "Wait, so are those the-"

"Mhmm." Heather replied, lowering her lids.

The Latino rose from his seat quickly and approached her. "So you know the gender?"

Heather nodded again, that same mischievous smile plastered on her face.

"So is it a boy or a girl?" He seemed eager. That only made this more fun. Heather shrugged and turned away from him, tucking the folder back under her arm.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to tell me?"

At that point Heather let out a little chuckle and flopped down onto the nearest couch. "Oh, see I would, but...you know." She gestured to the room. "There's just a few things I need taken care of first."

Alejandro's brows sank as he realized what game she was playing. She didn't say anything, she just leaned back with a satisfied look on her face. "Are you being serious right now? You're really not going to tell me the gender of my own child?"

"I will. Just run a couple errands for me and I'll tell you later, if you really wanna know that bad." She smiled.

He slit his eyes. "Are you kidding me?."

"Oh, so you don't want to know, that's fine." Heather grabbed the t.v. remote and pointed it towards the television. She definitely wasn't budging. With a groan, Alejandro walked closer towards the couch and leaned over onto the arm, staring icily at her.

"What do you want?" His face remained deadpanned as she turned her head to him.

Heather brought her finger to her chin. "Well, I've got laundry that needs to be done. Oh, and my car needs to washed. If you could clean out the trunk too, that'd be great." She smirked. "And some pizza on yourself. If that's not too much."

Alejandro was biting his lip to keep from saying what he wanted to, and it only amused Heather. It was just like old times. "You are the most manipulative little bitch I've ever met."

She raised her arm and pointed towards the hall. "My keys are on the counter." She was enjoying this too much.

Angrily, Alejandro leaned away from her and walked out of the living room. Heather heard him angrily snatch the keys and walk out the door, slamming it behind him. Kiki poked her head out of the kitchen once she heard the door shut.

"Heather you are working his nerves and I can tell." Kiki chuckled.

"If he really wants to know that bad, he can handle a little work before hand." Heather triumphantly said, stretching out her legs.

"You can tell me though right?"

Heather glanced around before gesturing Kiki to come closer. "Let's just say I'm glad he treats his niece so well because he's gonna have a little princess of his own soon."

At that Kiki squealed and congratulated Heather. "It's a girl?! Oh, that's so nice!"

"You can't tell, him, got it? I'm getting him back for what he did to me a few weeks ago." She ordered. Kiki nodded in agreement and slipped back into the kitchen.

With that, Heather slid her flip flops off her feet and brought her legs onto the couch. Whenever she set out to get revenge on someone, she always made sure that she got it. This was hilarious to sit back and watch too. Alejandro had no idea that the apartment complex's hose had a tendency to spurt up randomly, freezing cold water at that.

"Wait, Heather," Heather turned as Kiki poked her head out again. "Did you ever, um, you know, pay Chloe back?"

She knew she was forgetting something. "Shit, no, I'll do it today." Heather replied, waving her hand in the air to signal that she could leave.

_**I can't keep up with your turning tables...**_

Heather groaned. For what reason her mother would have to call her she had no idea. She had been right there when the doctor revealed the gender so she knew it couldn't have been about the baby. Irritably, Heather stretched her arm and reached for her ringing phone.

"What mom?"

"Heather, would you mind if I dropped Damien off at your apartment for a little bit?"

"Excuse me? You want to bring that little troll here?"

"Ugh, dear I have people coming over for a business meeting and I would prefer not to have him there for that, especially with his damned xbox blaring through the house."

Heather moaned in disgust. All she wanted was to relax, not to have to deal with her whiney little brother for who knows how long. She'd already dealt with him earlier that day. She brought the phone back to her ear. "Can't you leave him at one of your friends' houses?"

"Not since tapeworm incident he caused two years ago." _Oh God_. Heather remembered that _too_ vividly.

"Mom I have to go somewhere later and I can't-"

"Look, I have no other choice, I'm taking him over there. I'll see you in twenty minutes."

"Wait Mom no-"

CLICK

"UGHH!" Heather tossed her phone onto the opposite couch. This was great. Fucking great. Another six hours with what her parents tried to press on her as a brother. "Kiki,"

"What?" The girl leaned back out of the kitchen, a bowl now in hand.

"My brother's coming over, so if the door bell rings it's him."

Kiki winced back. She'd met Damien before to know that he was extremely hostile for no particular reason. "Does he really have to come here? I mean not saying he can't, it's just-"

"He's a little bitch, I know." Heather finished, rubbing her temple. "But apparently I have no other choice. My mom has a meeting."

Kiki shrugged. "As long as he doesn't touch my stuff, I'm fine." She looked towards the balcony. They could see that Alejandro was now scouring aimlessly around the building, looking for a hose. "Has Al met him yet?"

"Oh God no." Heather answered quickly. "Hopefully I can keep him busy long enough so he won't have to."

If Alejandro thought Heather was bed, he really needed to meet her brother. Damien was basically the male version of her, but ten times more rude and pumped up with teenage hormones and emotional instability. It was hard for Heather to admit that there actually was someone out there with a worse attitude than her. Alejandro would have to face him eventually however.

* * *

**~LATER IN THE NIGHT ~**

"Sit down, twerp!" Heather barked at her brother as he investigated the room, ignoring every order that his sister gave him to stop. He'd been picking up random, breakable things and hold them precariously just to irritate her. He decided that if he was stuck at Heather's for the night, that he'd entertain himself the best way he knew how. By bugging the shit out of her.

"Very interesting..." He held one of her glass dancing trophies in his hand loosely. "Now Heather, tell me, how do you plan on dancing when you're knocked up?"

Heather gritted her teeth. "I'm not, dumbass. I'm on workers' comp. Now put my shit down, and sit the hell down before I lock you outside." She snapped.

Damien ignored his sister and continued around the room, poking and prodding more random objects. "But you know, even after you give birth to whatever demon comes out you, you're still gonna be pretty wrecked." He turned to her. "I mean, you had a small creature inside of you. You're body's gonna like, never be the same."

"Would you shut the fuck up?" The Asian girl growled, picking up the remote and pitching it in his direction. He leaned away before it could hit him and chuckled at her pissed reaction.

"Hey, don't be mad at me because you've got a baby daddy now." Damien told her. "Where is he anyway?'

"Maybe if you hadn't acted like a hostile little bitch when you met him earlier, I would know." Heather replied, sinking into the couch. She knew that he was more than likely out running more errands she gave him.

Damien scoffed. "He's probably out knocking up some other girl."

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?!" Heather had shouted that time. Somehow she'd let her nails dig into the arm of the chair.

Damien closed his mouth at that point and sat down, finally. Heather regained her composure. She didn't even know why that had made her so angry.

She watched as her brother slumped down onto the sofa, finally retaining whatever he had geared up to say. Internally, Heather sighed; she tossed her head back and shut her eyes, It was a nice feeling to be sitting in the silence of the room at last. No Damien, no Alejandro pestering her, no-

"Wait, shit!" The girl sat up quickly and looked swiftly around the room. Her eyes darted to her keys which Alejandro had left on the arm of the chair. "Shit, shit, shit, shit shiiiit! Chloe!"

"What's your deal?" Damien looked confused as Heather swiftly stood up from her place and rushed over to the hall.

"I forgot to do something I meant to do earlier." She replied, quickly slinging her bag over her shoulder. She snatched her keys from the chair. "Get up, you're coming with me."

Damien groaned. "Why can't I just stay here?"

"Because, I don't trust you to not go through my things while I'm gone, now get up, we're going."

Reluctantly, Heather's brother rose from his seat in a huff and left through the front door. It didn't take her much time to quickly follow after him. Like she was going to leave him in her house, with her things just out in the open. And she knew her mother would be pissed if she found out too. Not a chance.

"Where are we? God can't you tell me anything?"

"For the last time Damien, I have to drop something off to someone. Now be quiet!."

Heather made her way just around the bend of the street she had turned her car onto. The evening had glimmered down to a dark nightfall and was only illuminated by the white street lamps that were sparsely scattered along the sidewalks. She knew that she definitely shouldn't have had her brother with her in the neighborhood she was in, but at the moment she had no choice.

A little ways before Heather had gotten into anything with Alejandro, she had had a favor to pay off to one of her older friends, Chloe. Chloe had been a rough girl, but the two had gone ways back to middle school and had a good understanding of each other. It was only recently that she'd made contact with Chloe after they'd separated because of a falling out. Heather however knew that she needed money to pay off a couple months rent that Kiki couldn't put up, and she knew that Chloe would have it. She had always had an abundance of cash that was open for use. Out of pure desperation, she'd called Chloe and asked her to borrow a few grand. No big deal.

_Except_ Chloe was the type of person that never forgot. Chloe was that kid that people bought dangerous drugs from in high school. Chloe was the type of person that got a little too involved with a risky lifestyle that Heather wanted no part of. And once you made a deal with Chloe, you sure as hell better have held up your end of the deal.

Heather had gotten a call from Chloe recently about paying her back, and meant it.

"_Listen Cheong, I've got people that need my supplies, and I'm missin' the grand that I gave you. That was a** loan**, Cheong. And I want it back. Now. Don't try and mail that shit to me, because I want it in my hand, got it?"_

She was usually one to fuck with people's emotions, but Heather honestly didn't want to find out what would happen if she put off paying her back any longer.

The girl pulled her car up just to the end of a broken sidewalk and parked swiftly. She turned to her brother with a serious look in her eye.

"Damien, listen to me. I'm going to drop something off, and I'll be right back. Do not, and I repeat, do not, get out, of this car, do you hear me?"

The boy huffed. "Yea whatever."

"I''m serious." Heather jerked his head back to face him. "I don't care what happens. Stay in the car. Understand?"

He drew back a bit from her touch, but quickly nodded and sat back against his seat. With a heavy inhale, Heather took the folded slip paper that had Chloe's money in it from her visor and exited the car, making sure to lock the doors behind her.

She started down the sidewalk. The smell of rain and must filled the night air and nearly sent her into a coughing fit as she walked. God she hated Outerbrook Heights, almost everything about it. The smell, the pushy people, and basically everything else. It was absolutely the last place she wanted to be anywhere near at night.

Heather vaguely remembered Chloe's house number from the last time she'd visited, which had to be over three years ago. She remembered how she'd been hollered and yelled out as soon as she set foot outside Chloe's bentley. She clearly remembered how much she didn't want to go back, ever again.

_'Just get in, give Chloe the money and get out'_ Heather repeated the mantra in her head to keep her focused. She really couldn't afford to get distracted for a minute.

"Well look who it is."

Heather blinked. The voice had came out of nowhere. Suddenly, she was face with rather tall male, lightly stubbled face and menacing look in his eye. She recognized him though.

"Manny?" Heather took a step back as he approached her.

"Heather, what are you doing in Outerbrook heights at night?" Manny folded his arms and took another step forward. "You know how dangerous it is out here."

"I don't have time for this right now, move!" Heather attempted to walk around him, but the taller male instantly blocked her path.

"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast." He smiled. "Why don't you tell me what you're doing here?"

"That's none of your buisness, Manny." Heather glared at him, but she knew she wasn't getting out that easy.

"Wait, wait," Manny's eyes quickly darted to Heather's closed fist. "Whatcha got there?"

"Get out of my way, Manny. I need to talk to Chloe." She tried to sound as authoritative as possible, but she still felt inferior when Manny leaned in on her.

"She's not home right now. But you can give whatever you got to me, I'll get it to her."

Heather narrowed her eyes and stepped back. "I'll go see if she's _really_ not there then. Now _move_, Manny."

"Cute, Heather, now give me the money."

"Ugh, no!" Heather attempted to move past him yet again, but was only caught in his grasp when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

Manny gripped her wrists to the point where it hurt and looked her dead in the eye. "Give me, the money."

* * *

Damien still had his hoodie on, and he still had his head facing towards the roof of the car. He sat in silence waiting for his sister to return. He still had no idea where the hell he was or where Heather had gone, he just sat, tossing in the passenger's seat of the car.

"DAMIEN!"

_'What the hell was that?'_ Damien sat up in his seat. It almost sounded like a voice, but it was too muffled by the other sounds of the neighborhood. Quietly, he leaned closer towards the car door.

"DAMIEN GET OUT OF THE CAR! DAMIEN! HELP! AUGH!"

That was his sister.

He could recognize her voice anywhere.

But she was yelling, almost..._in pain_?

"DAMIEN! AUGH-HELP!"

The sixteen year old moved like lightning at that point. He rushed the car door open and nearly stumbled onto broken glass when he got it open. It didn't matter how much his sister annoyed him. Something was wrong.

Damien raced down the long stretch of sidewalk to find his sister laying against the concrete, her legs just hanging over the edge and near the street and clutching her torso while coughing violently.

"Heather?! Heather what happened?!"

The girl lifted her head weakly from the concrete to reveal that she had a bruise around her eye, and her lip was slightly swollen. "Damien-c-call 911. Please! Augh!"

* * *

** I've been trying to figure out what to do with this chapter for a while and after coming to this conclusion I reeeeally hope this doesn't feel forced...**

**~DUECES**


	9. Putting Out Flames

**OKay, so I finally uploaded this chapter, and I wanna let you guys reading know that typically I like to write ahead so I have chapters to upload in the mean time while I'm working on other things, but this is the last chapter I have prewritten beside the next one which is half written. So basically it may take a more time between updates because I have to write from scratch, but I'll really try to get them done as quickly as I can! Thanks to everyone who's still reading and been waiting patiently!**

**SHOUTOUT: Torie Rilistkrytcat! You've been a prominent reviewer on most of my TD fics especially this one, and I wanna thank you! I appreciate it! **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_"Heather?! Heather what happened?!" _

_ The girl lifted her head weakly from the concrete to reveal that she had a bruise around her eye, and her lip was slightly swollen. "Damien-c-call 911. Please! Augh!" _

The only noise that filled the hospital waiting room was the low hum of computers from the information desk. The scent of medicine and sanitation sprays wafted past Damien's nose as he sat against the wall. He was seated in a soft, yet firm chair, right on the outskirts of the ER waiting room. His leg was restless. He couldn't stop bouncing it; it was a nervous habit that he had in situations like this. Every time he attempted to look up, he just ended huffing anxiously back into his jeans.

What the had happened back in Outerbrook terrified Damien. He probably wouldn't have been as scared if it weren't for the outlying factor that Heather was _pregnant_, and she was in serious pain when he'd found her.

He'd been waiting there for at least an hour, not sure of what was going on or how his sister was. All he could _do_ was wait.

Out of the corner of his eye, Damien saw a rush of movement come in from towards the entrance. He turned his head slightly. Alejandro's anxious figure came into his sight. The man rushed over to the information desk in a fast pace, desperately trying to get one of the nurses' attention. Damien had used Heather's phone to dial him, but he hadn't picked up, so he just left an urgent message in his cracking voice.

He watched as Alejandro managed to get one of the nurse's attention.

"Excuse me?! Heather Cheong? Is Heather Cheong in this hospital?"

The nurse definitely wasn't giving him as much attention as she should've of. She was hesitant to respond and seemed disinterested in what he was saying. Her eyes were fixed on the computer as she spoke.

"Heather Cheong you said? She's uh...hold on, gimme a minute I'll check."

Alejandro groaned and leaned further over the desk. "No you don't understand, she's pregnant with my-"

"Alejandro?" Damien finally managed to utter his name from across the room, just loud enough for him to hear it. The Latino turned his head in the direction of the voice and his face lit up.

"Damien!" He rushed over towards the rows of chairs placed against the wall. Damien was a bit overwhelmed, from what Alejandro could see in his facial expression. He leaned over towards him.

"Damien, where is Heather? Is she okay?"

Damien shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I-I think she's fine...I've been sitting here for a long time and I don't really know. They won't tell me anything."

"What room is she in?" Alejandro asked desperately.

"...304. They told me 304. It's on the third floor. It's upstairs...I-I can take you."

Damien didn't even wait for response out of him. He simply rose from his seat and continued around the corner and towards the elevators. Alejandro trailed close behind him. The two waited outside the elevator for what seemed like an eternity, but eventually the doors creaked open and let them inside.

"Damien, I need to know what happened." Alejandro's voice made Damien jump a little. He lowered his tone. He'd remembered Heather saying before that even though her brother was annoying, he had a bit of an anxiety problem.

The sixteen-year-old bit his lip and looked towards the ground. "We were in her apartment...and then all of a sudden she said we had to go somewhere. Then we left and she didn't tell me where we were going. It got dark pretty quickly...but as soon as we pulled up I saw a sign for Outerbrook pass by-"

"_Outerbrook Heights_?!" Alejandro exclaimed, making Damien wince again. "What the hell was she doing in Outerbrook Heights?!"

"She said she had to drop something off to someone, but she could've been lying I really don't know...but then like fifteen minutes after she got out of the car I heard her yelling my name. I found her lying on the sidewalk with a bruised eye..."

"Someone did this to her?"

"I don't know! I think so I just-I don't know!"

The same overwhelmed look returned to Damien face, giving Alejandro the hint that interrogating him was probably just going to give him an anxiety attack.

The elevator stopped on floor three, and Damien led the man around a few corners to the end of one hall. The door of the room was closed, but the board hanging on the wall read "HEATHER CHEONG" in black letters. Damien gave him one last look before knocking on the door a few times.

"Come in." A light voice had said; it wasn't Heather's,

The young teen pushed the door open, revealing a nurse waiting by Heather's side, tending to her bruised lip. Heather's eyes instantly met Alejandro's as the two stepped further into the room. She didn't look shaken, or frightened if anything. She look as if the only words going through her mind were, "Oh shit."

"May I ask who you are?" The nurse patted Heather's lip one last time before turning to the men.

"That's my brother..Damien..." Heather spoke. She gulped as she looked up to Alejandro. "And he's...my..."

"I'm the father of her child." Alejandro finished for her, an affirmative tone in his voice.

"Oh, alright then." The nurse replied. "I'm Jen, Heather's nurse. And I can assure you that she's fine, just a bit of bruising on her face and wrists."

"What about the baby?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of Heather.

"The baby's fine, Alejandro..." Heather replied, inhaling lightly.

"She's right." Jen confirmed. "You're very lucky, Ms. Cheong. Outerbrook is a really dangerous be at anytime, let alone at night. It's a miracle that you're both okay."

"It is." Alejandro folded his arms and walked a bit closer to Heather's bed, right around towards the left side. "Um, Jen, would you mind giving us a minute to talk in private? I'm sure Damien hasn't eaten in awhile, so if you could show him to the cafeteria that'd be great as well."

Jen blinked and looked over at Damien. "Oh...well..okay. I can do that." She walked over towards the boy and escorted him towards the door. "If you need anything, just ring the information desk."

"Will do." Alejandro said to Jen as she closed the door behind her. As soon as the audible click of the door was heard, he immediately focused back on Heather.

She knew this wasn't going to be a comfortable conversation.

"Heather, I cannot begin to explain how thankful that you are alright and that the baby is okay, I really can't." He was pacing. "But, do you mind telling me what the hell you were doing in Outerbrook Heights at 12:30 in the morning?!"

"I had something to take care of!" She fired back.

"What was so important that it couldn't have waited until daytime?!"

"I had a loan to pay off, alright? I couldn't put it off any longer!"

Alejandro groaned. "Heather, do you not understand that you could have gotten killed in a place like that? If anything you could have asked me to do it! What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't! Okay?! Are you happy?!" Heather snapped back. She definitely wasn't in the mood to defend herself. She'd just gotten mugged for God sakes.

"No, I'm not happy, I've never been more terrified in my life!" Alejandro answered. "Do you have any how scared I was when I got that message from your brother?!"

Heather lowered her brows. "First of all, do not, yell at me, understand?" She waited a minuted for him to reluctantly nod. "Second, I know my way around Outerbrook. And I happened, to accidentally run into someone I've met before that I wasn't on the best terms with. Third, the fact of the matter is that I'm _fine_."

"But don't you understand that you could have lost the baby?"

"God Alejandro, you don't think I know that?!" The raven-haired girl fired back. Suddenly her anger level had skyrocketed. "You really don't think I know that?! You don't think I feel awful for putting us both at risk?! You didn't think I was terrified when all this shit happened?!"

Alejandro stopped pacing for a minute. Heather's face had reddened, she looked as if she were on the verge of frustration-fueled tears. She'd begun white-knuckling the sheets out of anger.

"...When your brother made it sound like you were nearly beaten to death-"

"My brother has an _anxiety disorder._ He always panics in situations like this! I thought I told you that!"

Alejandro sighed. "You did. But I still have the right to be afraid." He looked her in the eyes. "To be honest...I don't know what I would've done if lost the both of you."

That comment surprised Heather a bit, and sent a strange flush through her body. Did he actually just admit to caring about her a more than he normally would?

"Well..we're both fine. So you can relax."

Alejandro's face softened. It didn't bear that same expression of worry and anger. He went over, closer to Heather's side. "...Heather, please promise you won't do anything like this again, alright?"

"I..." Heather met his eyes, which she could only read as genuinely concerned. "I won't."

"Thank you."

Alejandro unfolded his arms and walked from the side of Heather's bed over to seat placed just beside the closed door. He slowly sank into the seat and let his craned his head back against the wall.

"You know, you never did tell me the gender." He spoke, not taking his eyes away from the ceiling.

She hadn't, and honestly she'd forgotten. Alejandro had disappeared at some point in the afternoon and it slipped her mind to tell him about it. "...I get to name it."

"...So it's a girl?"

Heather nodded and sighed heavily. Alejandro spent the next minute looking up at the ceiling and letting his eyes wander around a bit. He caught her eye. His hands were draped across his lap. inept of any movement. He just sat there, thinking about whatever he had on his mind.

"Heather...?" His voice broke the silence that had settled.

Heather over towards his seated body.

"I've been thinking...and...I..." It seemed as if he was trying to find the right words to say. "I think we should, for the benefit of the baby...move in together."

Heather's grey eyes went a bit wide, and her hand gripped one of the white sheets above her torso. "What?"

He looked over at her. "I'm asking you to move in with me. Just to make things a bit easier."

The girl's expression became a worried look. "Alejandro-I can't just pick up everything and move all the way across town. I thought we'd just-"

"We'd what? Spend our time juggling a child between two different households?"

Heather bit her tongue. He had a point. She'd never thought about their living situation as far as the baby, but he had obviously.

"I just think that we'd have more space in my condo." Alejandro admitted.

Heather brought her hand to her cheek. "You're right but-I just-let me think about this. I need time to think about this." She'd literally be picking up all of her things and moving to God knows where. She had to sleep on the idea for a few days.

"Take your time." She was glad he understood her feelings. Heather wanted desperately to change the subject however.

"...Alejandro?" She spoke up.

"Yea?"

"Would you mind taking my brother home?" Heather asked. "He..has school tomorrow."

Alejandro stood from his seat, his hand still in his pocket and gripping the keys that were in there. "Of course, not a problem."

Heather watched him exit the room after that, leaving her in the silence of the suite. She let her head fall back against the cool pillow. Now she had a huge decision to make in a short amount of time. Just fantastic.

It took only a few minutes for her eyes to become heavy. A tiredness pulled her from consciousness, and left her chest huffing out light breaths of her sleep against the hospital bed. She'd discharge from the hospital in the morning, she needed the rest.

* * *

Heather's POV

"Heather I keep finding more junk food." Alejandro said to me. "Dios mio, is this all you eat?"

We were in my bedroom; I was lying on my bed, wrapped up in my white comforter. Today was one of those days where the side-effects of pregnancy were kicking in. I felt like shit, but not sick to the point where I wanted to throw up. Just that irritating headache, heavy and clammy feeling kind of sick. Alejandro was walking around my room; a few boxes were littered out in the hallway and led into the threshold of my door. He had one of the boxes hanging from his left hand and he stood in my closet, picking random things down to sort out.

It'd taken me at least a week to process what I wanted to do, but I finally made the decision to move in with him. I didn't necessarily want to, but I could hear my mother in my head now grinding into me about how having a child takes sacrifice.

I'd started boxing up things on my own, and Alejandro offered to help out, so I said he could come over today. As soon as he showed up however he already could tell that I didn't feel well. So now I was lazily giving him directions from my bed as to what went where.

"Those are my pointe shoes." He held two raggedy shoes in his hand. I slurred a bit, because I was drifting in and out of sleep. "Just put them to the side I'll get them."

Alejandro obeyed my order and placed the shoes on my dresser, which was being broken down. He looked over at me worriedly. "Heather," He started, walking closer towards my bed. "Are you sure you don't want me to get you some aspirin or something?"

"No." I replied, blinking lazily as he stood over me. "If anything that'll make it worse."

"...Fine." I could tell that choice made him a little uncomfortable. He had to find solace in the fact that he could protect me all the time, especially since the Outerbrook thing. I knew that that was killing him on the inside.

A few minutes later, I heard the unmistakable bang of metal against my front door. I leaned up from my bed, looking towards the door. Alejandro stopped and looked at me.

"Are you expecting someone?"

I shook my head and managed to pull myself out of bed, slipping my hair into a low ponytail as I got up.

"Heather I can get it-"

I let out a little sound of annoyance and waved at him to stay where he was. I may have been sick, but I could still do at least some things for myself.

I strode groggily into the living room and down the hall towards the door. I looked through the peephole on the door only to pull back out of confusion. Hesitantly, I turned the knob and opened it.

"Izzy?"

The redhead wasted no time charging into my apartment, shutting the door behind her and dragging whatever she had in her hand along with her. She pulled the bag into the living room and triumphantly turned to face me, her hands on her hips.

"Hey Heather!" She said so nonchalantly.

I narrowed my eyes. I hadn't invited Izzy over. I hadn't seen her since the incident at the restaurant which was about a month and a half ago, and I surely hadn't spoken to her either. Yet she stood in my living room, grinning at me insanely.

"Oh cool, are you a dancer?" She eyed the plaque I had hanging on the opposite facing wall. "Oh wait, you did dance back on the show didn't you?"

She kept rambling for a minute, going on and on about how she was doing, her life, things that had happened since the island. I didn't know what to say, or how to ask the questions I wanted to. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alejandro's figure come from out of my room and down the hall, carrying a box in his hand. He stopped immediately when he saw Izzy standing in front of him, her back facing him. His eyes darted towards me with a confused look; I shrugged.

"I've basically been hopping from job to job you know? Trying to find the right fit." She turned slightly, letting Alejandro come into her plain of view. She gasped. "Alejandro! So it really was you! Wow! This is so crazy!"

"Izzy." I finally cut her off. She stopped at looked at me.

"What's up?"

I blinked. "What are you doing here?"

She had a confused look in her wide green eyes for a moment, but then a smile came across her face. She leaned over and picked up the bag she'd brought in. "Oh yea, duh! I'm here to help out!"

"Help out with what? How did you even get my address?" I was utterly confused. The last thing I wanted right now was people over, especially when I was trudging around my apartment in a dingy grey cardigan and sweatpants.

"Oh well, you see after you guys came to the restaurant I remembered that I wanted to tell you something before you left, but I could remember what it was." She shook the bag. "But it totally came back to me like a day ago! So I just got Noah to give me your address."

Izzy looked me up and down, heavily observing my figure before bringing her hand to her chin. "You're having a girl, aren't you?"

"I-Yes...how did you know that?"

"I'm good at guessing things like that." Izzy opened the bag a little and reached inside. What she pulled out was a soft-looking white teddy bear with a pink ribbon tied around it's neck. "You see, since you're pregnant but you're like still twenty one, I thought that maybe you'd need a little help with getting baby stuff, am I right?"

Alejandro slipped from behind Izzy and came closer to me, sharing the same expression as Izzy continued.

"Well, my grandma is a daycare provider, and their getting rid of a lot of their old stuff to replace it with new things! So I thought you guys could make use of some of this stuff." She gestured to the bag. "This is just some of it, but I have a whole bunch of other things like cribs and stuff if you want."

Alejandro and I looked at each other, not sure what to say. Her presence was uncalled for, but sure as hell helpful. We'd actually been trying to figure out how we were gonna get all that stuff in the first place. Now there was this offer.

"That'd...be great, Izzy. Thanks." Alejandro finally spoke up, running his free hand through his hair.

Izzy grinned. "Awesome! Just tell me what you guys need and I can get my cousins to bring it in for you." Her lids lowered and she chuckled slyly. "I can even get them to do your nursery for free, if you guys are doing a nursery." She looked over her shoulder and down the hall, her eyes landing on the boxes scattered everywhere.

"Is someone moving in or something?"

Alejandro gripped the box. "No-actually, Heather's moving in with me."

Izzy smiled. "Really? Oh do you guys need help? Like how much stuff do you have? I've got my SUV parked out front." The redhead looked back over her shoulder and began to walk down the hall.

Alejandro stuck his hand out. "Wait Izzy, we don't-"

"Wow it is a _wreck _in here! You guys totally need my help." Izzy kept babbling as she walked uninvited into my room. I cringed a bit when I heard her rumbling through my things.

Alejandro looked down at me. "Aren't you going to say something?"

I shrugged. I was tired, and in way too much pain to care too much. Izzy stuck her head back out of my room. She started to say something, but began giggling at me instead. I furrowed my brows.

"What?" I asked.

She raised her finger. "Your boobs are getting bigger."

A blush flew across my face as Izzy continued giggling when she went back into my room. I looked down at my chest. I whipped my head up at Alejandro, who had looked off around the room when he'd heard Izzy say that.

"Are they?" I questioned.

"Well..." He obviously wasn't saying all he could.

My brows sank. "You noticed, didn't you?"

"I mean-yeah, I did but-ow!" He flinched as I smacked him hard in the arm. I don't know why I couldn't tell, but obviously everyone else could.

"Why didn't you say something?!"

"I thought you knew! What was I supposed to say?!" Alejandro exclaimed, looking incredulously at me.

"I don't know! Something!"

He groaned and bent over to pick up the box he'd dropped from the floor. I heard him mumble something along the lines of "It's not like I had problem with it."

I frowned. Just for that, I shoved him down with my foot. Alejandro fell chest first onto the floor and I stepped over him. He grunted my name as he hit the carpet, but I couldn't care less. My ass had gotten bigger too, but I already knew he noticed that because I literally caught him staring _all the time_. No matter how much of a "gentleman" he claimed to be, he was still a guy.

I threw my purse around my shoulder and took my keys from the arm table beside the couch. Alejandro climbed to his knees and brushed off his jeans; he looked up at me.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

"Out?" I replied, not turning around.

He scoffed. "Out where?"

"Does it matter? Go help Izzy!"

"Yes it matters! The last time you said you were going 'out' you ended up in the hospital!"

I groaned. "Are you still hung up on that?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You could've died!"

"I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Wooww!"

Izzy's voice surprised the both of us. She carried a box filled with miscellaneous things into the living room. "You guys sound like a married couple. Just bickering back and forth all the time."

We both blushed at that. Alejandro looked away from me.

Izzy put the box down. "...How often would you guys say you bicker? Like barely or a lot?"

I'd never thought about it until that moment, but that's when I realized that Alejandro and I actually did fight. We fought _a lot._ Last week we'd been arguing about my diet for the millionth time, two days ago we went back and forth about the baby's middle name. Even last night we'd gone at each other because we couldn't decide on a color for the baby's room. They were little, stupid, miniscule things that set us off. And the more I thought about it, the more stupid it sounded. He seemed to come to the same realization given the dumbfounded expression on his face.

Izzy didn't get a response out of either of us, so she continued. "...Well...basically I was gonna say that maybe you two should consider taking a parenting class. My grandma teaches them every Friday at the Rec Center, and it's free so, yeah."

"We don't need to take a parenting class." I started. "We can always get past the fighting thing."

"Yeah," Alejandro added. "It's not like we argue_ all_ the time."

"You sure about that?" Izzy raised her red brows at me. Yes I was fucking sure. Besides it's normal for parents to fight.

"I'm just saying you're both pretty young and you already fight a lot, and probably get irritable pretty easy at that. Now Imagine having to take care of a screaming newborn every sleepless night. Believe me, you two would be at each other's throats constantly."

My eyes widened. I hated to admit it, but Izzy was right. She was extremely right.

"You don't have to take a class if you don't want to. I mean, my parents fought a lot but I turned out alright, right?"

Alejandro went a bit pale and looked at me. I'm pretty sure we both had the same expression of horror.

"Maybe we should take the class."

"Definitely." I finished

Izzy grinned. "Great! I'll tell my Grandma she's got new students coming!" She picked up another box from the floor and delved back into my room. Alejandro and I shared a glance.

"No seriously where are you going?"

I lowered my brows and turned away. "I'll be back."

I didn't know whether I should be happy he cared so much or pissed because he was smothering me with his "protection".

* * *

**So there you have it for this chapter, eh, may seem like a filler but I think I getting somewhere. I realized I tend to write in Heather's point of view a lot and I guess it's just easier to write in her perspective, but I'll try to switch it up more.**

**Hope you enjoyed this and tell me what you think.**

**DUECES~**


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